Whatever Life Gives Us
by rachLA
Summary: Name: Keari.  She is a girl.  She has automail.  She has secrets.  She meets the Elrics.  All hell breaks loose.
1. Guessing Game

**Hi, people! This is my first FMA/ FMAB fanfiction and I've been hoping to do this for a long time. I'm not going to tell you couples because that kinda destroys the idea of suspence. Please review me! I need review to survive!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any characters associated with it. I do own Keari. I love her soooo much!**

**REVIEW!**

***EDITING IN PROGRESS***

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><p>Keari was not an average girl. She was, in fact, not the average person. Her eyes were haunted, and she seemed to carry the world on her shoulder; everyone's problems rested on those thin shoulders.<p>

Most people, however, were not interested in the pain beneath those blue eyes; they were interested her limbs or, in her case, lack thereof. Her right arm was automail, the same with both of her legs. People rarely even glanced at Keari herself, it was always her and her automail. On one hand, it annoyed her to no end, but, on the other, she was glad. It was fine with her if no one wanted to talk to her or even approach her because of her automail.

She lived in a small appartment on the edge of town, alone. Many people had wondered what a fifteen year old girl was doing moving into an appartment without an adult when she first came to town, now people just smiled at her. Keari was a fairly easy girl to get along with, but if you ever got on her bad side, you were as good as dead. She could put up one hell of a fight despite her small stature. She was barely four feet ten inches tall and had an extremely fine bone structure, at least in what wasn't automail. She gave the impression of being helpless but nothing pissed her off more than people assuming that because she was small she was helpless. She wasn't.

She had short pale blonde hair, about chin length, which she was forever annoyed with. She was content to stay on the side lines unless something forced her to act and when she did, she fought and fought hard.

Keari had gone to the market to buy some grease for her automail because it was starting to stiffen up again. It desperately needed tuning, but she didn't have the money for it. _It would get tuning as soon as she got a_ _boyfriend_, she thought wryly as she walked the familiar streets. The only reason she was spending money on it today was because her right arm had frozen last night when she was making dinner. It's extremely hard to chop vegetables with one arm, she now knew.

"Have a nice day," the clerk called after her as she left the store, carrying a small bag.

"You too!" she threw over her shoulder, not glancing back as she turned off of main street and onto a less travelled side street. _When I get home I'm going to put this on my automail and then_- Her thoughts were interrupted by a head on collision with a short blonde boy, going the opposite direction. Keari let out a small scream as she fell uncerimoniously on top of him. He, in turn, fell backwards, onto the dirt road.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed trying to disentangle herself from the pile of limbs that they'd landed in.

"Brother?" a tall man wearing armor asked, she assumed, the boy. "Ed? Are you okay?"

The blonde boy underneath me groaned and rolled out from under her. "Yeah, I'm fine Al." Ed turned to Keari, extending a hand to help her up. "Are you okay? You should watch where you're going."

She glared at him, taking the offered hand. Metal clanged as she grabbed his hand... like he had automail also. _I wonder how that happened?_ "I'm fine. And, for the record, you also ran into me."

She regained her balance as he let go of her automail hand, a puzzled expression flitting across his face. She shot him a look that dared him to ask. Instead, all he said was, "I'm Ed, and this is my younger brother, Al." He gestured at the man in armor.

Younger? she thought, but his look dared to her to comment so she held herself back from asking. "I'm Keari."

"Nice meeting you," Al said, his voice echoing metalically. Hollowly.

"Yeah, but I'm afraid we're very buisy at the moment. Have you heard of a doctor Marcoh?" Ed asked, raising his gold eyebrows. His eyes, Keari noted, were an unusual shade of gold.

"Marcoh? No," she said, annalyzing the boy's expression. Disappointment flickered in his eyes. She felt a bit bad for disappointing the boy so she added, "But, I do know a doctor Maroh."

The boy raised his head slightly, snapping to alertness. "Where?"

"He lives down the street a ways then to the left. The white house with the tree in the front yard.'' She glanced at the pair, slightly suspicious. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to know?"

Ed's expression shut down, turning into an unreadable mask. "He has information we need. We should be going now. C'mon Al."

Keari stared after the two boys for a long time after they had vanished from her sight. One had automail. The other was in a suit of armor, making the wearer invisable to the human eye. I wonder... _No!_ she mentally chided. _You shouldn't go around thinking such things. They're probably perfectly normal._

She realized that it was later than she'd planned; the sun was setting. It wasn't wise to be out after dark in this town lately. The disappearances had started a short while ago, always at night and always alone. No witnesses.

She turned off the road, into an alley. Keari didn't take this route home for often for two reasons. One, it was much creepier and, although it provided a short cut, was very isolated. And, two, it was home to-

"Hey there,_ Keari_," said a voice from behind her, mocking her obviously foreign name. She took one deep breath and exhaled very slowly before turning around. Dammit.

"What do you want?" Keari asked, putting on an afraid girl act.

"Oh, you know." He cockily at her then scowled, saying, "We don't like foreigners in these parts of Amestris. You with your white hair and stupid name."

She internally counted to three. She had to keep a cool head; rage was a distraction and could get you killed in a fight. A sound from behind her alerted her to the presense of five more of the bastards. _Damn_, she thought,_ I don't remember there being quite this many last time_. She couldn't keep stalling; the six rats were starting to close in on her. She was trapped against the alley wall, her way out blocked.

"Well," she said calmly, but inside she was shaking. There were too many. Way too many. "If you insist on fighting, then we'll fight. But I am not going to let you continue being so racist, Jockall. There's more of people unlike you than there are like you."

He sneered pityingly at her. It would be his downfall. Keari threw herself against the alley wall, using the momentum to spring at Jockall. She landed a good, solid kick to his stomach that had him doubled over in pain before the others were on her. After that it was a world of pain. She punched one of the men in the face before she was thrown against the brick wall by another. She heard a sickening crunch and for a moment, all she felt was numbness. Then her entire torso felt as if it were on fire. She coughed and blood spattered the dirt. _Not a good sign._ _Her automail was probably ruined_, she thought. _Broken._

Jockall, standing up with a grunt, shouted, "That's what you get, you little bitch!"

"Who are you calling so little they could be squashed by a grain of sand!" a said voice near the opening of the alley. Yelled is more accurate. She raised her head slightly, gasping with the pain. _Ed?_

"I don't think that was meant for y- Brother! Look!" Al said from behind Ed. He pointed to where Keari lay, crumpled. Ed's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing in disgust. He looked at the ground, bangs hiding his face.

"So you enjoy causing pain. What did that girl ever do to you?" He raised his head, a smirk on his face. "Let's see how you take pain."

He clapped his hands together changing his automail arm into a blade. _Alchemy,_ she thought daised. _I was right. He didn't use a transmutation circle. How about that._

Ed charged at the first man, a burly, tall one, and knocked him out within a minute. Al did the same to the second man, along with the fourth and fifth. Ed, meanwhile, was locked in combat with Jockall, their leader.

"What did she ever do to you?" he shouted, slicing a deep cut into Jockall's cheek.

Jockall only laughed. "Don't you see it? She's different."

Ed pinned him, automail knife at his throat. "What do you mean by that?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Her blue eyes and white hair. She's obviously some kind of half-Ishvalan bitch. She doesn't belong here. She belongs in the encampments." He laughed as Ed's face contorted in disgust. "When I told her so she refused, so I told her if she didn't leave, I'd make her go. She still refused."

"You're disgusting. You don't deserve death." Al appeared beside me just as Ed wacked Jackall across the head with the blunt of his blade.

"Are you alright? Can you move?" Al asked her, concern lacing his tone.

I answered him with another bloody caugh, trying my best to not get blood on him. "Brother!" he shouted in alarm, looking up from me to his brother.

"What is it, Al?" Ed hurried over to us, his red coat swishing in the slight breeze.

"Look at Keari!" he commanded. Al gently turned me on my back. Even though he was attempting to be gentle, I whimpered quietly.

Ed drew in a breath. He looked at Al, gravely, "We need to take her to Marcoh."

The last thing she remembered was being lifted carefully off the ground, surrounded by folds of red cloth.

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><p><strong>Sooooo? What did you think? Should I continue it? Should I delete it? Just review! I'll even take flames! <strong>

**Review! It's scientifically proven to extend your life.**


	2. Elrics and Automail

**Hi! I'm back! Thanks sooo much for all of the FREAKING AWESOME reviews. It means so much to me. The chapter was really hard for me to write, but I managed as best I could. Meh. It's not my best, but I like it. REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: I didn't put one on the last chapter, but I hate them so this is also my last. I don't own FMA or FMAB, get it?**

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><p>When Keari awoke, she found herself lying on a faded orange couch. <em>Where am I?<em>

"I see you're awake,'' said a voice to her right. She glanced over and saw Ed leaning against the wall. Keari sat up, realizing that her right arm automail was hanging limply at her side, useless. She nodded at him, preoccupied with her calculations of the cost of new automail. "Damn," she muttered; it was far too much. There was no way she could afford it. Not even if she worked for the next five years at the market. She couldn't do it.

"Marcoh! She's awake," Ed called moving farther into the room. It was bare, with white walls and sparce furnishings. She lay on a couch, covered by a red flanel blanket that was the only splash of color in the room.

A man, Marcoh, appeared in the doorway, closly followed by Al. Marcoh's dark hair was graying and his creased face betrayed weariness, as if he were worried about something. But, there was kindness in his eyes, and Keari immediately felt reassured in his presence. "Marcoh?"

"I haven't seen you in a while, Keari." He smiled tiredly, slightly amused. "You were hurt fairly badly when those two," he gestured at the brothers, "brought you to me. Of course, those two are full of surprises." _Hmmm._ She wondered what he meant by that.

"Keari!" Al exclaimed, bypassing Marcoh and rushing over to stand next to the couch, armor clanking. "Brother and I were so worried about you! You were caughing blood, and Marcoh said that you had broken some ribs. He used alchemy to heal them some." She raised her eyebrows at him, looking around the large suit of armor see Marcoh. She hadn't heard anything about medical alchemy since- No! She couldn't think about that now.

"Everyone always said you were an amazing doctor." She smiled crookedly at him. "I guess now I know why."

"What were you even doing there? In the alley." Ed asked, raising his eyebrows at her. "It kind of screams 'creepy.'"

Keari scowled at him reproachfully. _I realize that it wasn't my brightest decision, but you don't need to point it out!_ "I was taking a short cut home. People have been disappearing, and I didn't want to be next." She attempted to mimic his eyebrow raising, but failed miserably, only managing to scrunch up her eye.

"Disappearances?" Al asked, sounding alarmed.

"Yes," Marcoh spoke up. "They started about a month after I arrived here."

"It's always at night. Always on the old north road," she added, trying to come to a conclusion.

"You don't think it was them? Jockall's gang.'" Al asked Ed who was drumming his finger on the top of a small end table. Marcoh started and walked stiffly over to the couch I was lying on.

"I think it was. They were stupid enough to do something like tha-" A tall, abnormally muscular, man marched grandly into the room. He had a perfectly groomed, blonde mustache and an equally blonde curl of hair on his head, but other than that he was completely bald. Keari had seen some pretty buff people in her time, but he blew them all away. He was wearing the standard, blue military uniform, a state alchemist pocketwatch dangling from his pocket.

"You have finally returned to consciousness!" he bellowed poetically. "I must say how valiantly you fought those fiends back in the alley. It was most eye opening how someone of your stature could fight so wonderously!" Tears started forming in his blue eyes as Keari stared in horror at the man. _How was it possible for someone to be so dramtic? How?_ She looked pleadingly at Ed and Al.

"Does he do this often?" she blurted before she could stop herself. She blushed as she realized how impolite she must have sounded. She was normally able to keep her mouth shut so this was strange for her.

Ed laughed, tugging at a white gloved hand. "Yeah, way too often." Now that Keari had a chance to study him, she realized he looked different than when she had seen him before. He was missing something... His red coat! The long red coat he had been wearing, she realized, was what she had originally thought was a blanket, covering her.

"Oh! I'm sorry; I didn't realize I was stealing your coat." She stood unsteadily from the couch, blushing again. She was still wearing the pants and shirt she had left the house in; the only thing missing was her blue jacket. Without it, her automail arm was completely exposed.

"It's fine," Ed said, walking over to her. He stooped to pick up his coat off the couch. When he straightened, he jerked his chin towards the state alchemist. "That's Major Armstrong." He grabbed her elbow, steadying her.

"YES!" bellowed the major, practically sparkling. Keari could almost see them. "I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist."

"Wait," she said, considering what he had said, "If you are a state alchemist, and Ed says you do that far to often," Keari looked with wide eyes at Ed, "Then you must have some connection with the military!"

Ed scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um, yeah. I'm-"

"What?" Armstrong yelled, glaring intimidatingly at Ed. "You haven't given the lady proper introduction! Allow me, miss," as he finished, he moved his gaze to Keari. "This is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. And, that," he moved his gesture from Ed to Al, "is Alphonse Elric, Edward's younger brother."

Her mouth dropped open in shock. The Fullmetal Alchemist? Here? "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist?" she asked Edward, brows furrowing. I suppose he does have the automail for the name, she thought drily.

"Yes. I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist." He raised his eyebrows at her as if daring her to challenge it. She wondered why he acted as though most people didn't believe it. If Keari had learned anything over the years, it was that nothing was as it seemed. Although he didn't look dangerous, and neither did she, Keari had seen him fight and knew he had some mean skills in alchemy. He didn't even need a transmutation circle. Of course, neither did she.

"Alright," she said simply, smiling at him slightly. Her small smile turned into a full blown grin at his shocked expression. "What? You look like no one's ever said that before."

He shook his head then smiled. "No one ever has," Ed replied.

"Alphonse it a nice name," Keari added, realizing that everyone had been ignoring Al. _Poor guy. It was strange how people kept ignoring him when he had such a large physical presense. It was as if there was a child inside_ the _armor. How silly_, she thought to herself, _there's no way Al was kid even though his voice was so high._

"Thanks, Keari," Al said politely, his voice echoing... hollowly. Strange.

She laughed uncertainly, sensing Ed's eagerness to ask her some questions. Apparently, she hadn't been the only one to realize that because Armstrong walked over to Doctor Marcoh, saying, "I haven't seen you in so long, I must have you regail me with the ever amazing details of your time away from Central!" With that, Armstrong dragged Marcoh out the door, shooting Edward a warning glance over his shoulder.

Ed let go of her arm to go shut the door. Once he had, Ed turned to face Al and Keari again. "I have some questions for you. Will you answer them?" he asked.

"BROTHER!" Al exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips disapprovingly.

Keari shook her head, irritating strands of blonde hair falling into her eyes. "No, Al," she sighed, "It's okay." She looked directly into Ed's eyes, blue meeting gold. "I will do my best to answer your questions, but I don't promise I'll answer all of them."

Ed chuckled, looking away from her gaze. "If that's all I can get."

She nodded.

He rattled off the first question. "You seemed to know Jockall. How?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "When I first came to this village," she said, "he started tormenting me. He would throw rocks at me and pull my hair, little things like that. This was, of course, before got his little pack of followers." She looked disgustedly at the ground, memories replaying through her head.

"If they were so awful, why didn't anyone do anything about them?" Ed asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No one believed it was them." Keari pursed her lips, "Now, I guess, they won't be causing anymore trouble. I mean, you kicked their asses."

Al and Edward laughed at her phrasing. She knew she didn't seem the type that would curse, but, to be honest, she had a problem with not cursing. She was trying cut back on it, though. She had lived alone so long it didn't really matter what she said so she had never had any reason not to, but now, being that she was among people, she had to try to stop. Her mother had raised a polite girl.

"Guess we kind of did," Ed said, patting Alphonse on the arm cockily. _She would have to kick his a-butt,_ Keari thought. _He had it coming._

"I have a few questions for you, too," Keari mentioned, gaze sliding over the blonde boy lazily. People always said her gaze was unnerving, with the unusual silver flecks in her ice blue eyes; she half hoped they had that effect on Ed.

He looked away from her, pursing his lips, "I suppose it's only fair. As you said, I'll try to answer your questions."

A grin played across her lips. She hadn't talked to anyone for so long it was kind of nice. Of course, she had exchanged meaningless pleasantries with the village folk through gritted teeth, but no one had ever stopped to talk to her meaningfully. There was never anything useful on their lips. She really loathed pointless conversation. _Keari,_ she told herself, smiling slightly, _you know you have absolutely no social life when you enjoy an intarigation._ **(A/N: That's not spelled right, I know. I'll look it up and change it later.)**

"What?" She turned to Ed, finding him staring at her in confusion. "What are you smiling about?" he asked, glancing warily at Al.

"Heh," she said, groping the darkest corners of her mind for an excuse, "I was... Um, deep in thought?"

Edward raised his eyebrows, but before he could say anything, Al replied easily, "Oh, okay. Brother just thought you were laughing at us. It's no big deal." Al seemed to have a way with people.

Keari smiled at the brothers, remembering her own family with a pang. "It's amazing," she mused aloud, "the bond you two share, I mean.

Al made an embarassed noise, and Ed blushed a deep red. Once he'd recovered from his embarassment, he asked, "Can we get back to the questions?"

She nodded.

"Good. I was wondering, why were you alone here? When we asked, Marcoh told us you didn't have any family in town. Why are you living on your own?"

Her face darkened noticably as she replied in a monotone, "My family's dead. They died a long time ago."

"Oh," Al said quickly, sounding alarmed with the change in her demeanor, "Sorry. If we had known we wouldn't have asked." He held up his arms in front of him as if in surrender.

She forced a smile, thinking to herself how fortunate it was that she was so good at smiling through the pain. "I know. It's fine, really. You didn't know. And, besides, it happened a long time ag-" She was interrupted by Armstrong, bursting through the door, tears in his eyes.

"Oh, miss Keari!" he said, with a flurish of his arm his shirt lay on the ground, exposing his abs. _He had very large muscles_, she had to admit, _but did he really have to strip_? "I heard your tale of sadness. Your poor, dead family! Allow me to cheer your mood by-"

"I'm fine!" she squeaked, eyes as wide as golf balls. "I'm okay, really! You don't need to do this!"

Armstrong reluctantly replaced his shirt.

"So what are you going to do now?" Al asked.

"I don't know. I'll probably _to_ find someone to fix my automail, but I doubt I'll be able to afford it." She barely registered saying the last part out loud. She met his gaze, "I'll be okay."

Edward's eyes lit up. He grinned conspiritorially at her as he said, "I think we can help you out with that."

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><p><strong>Sooooo? What's you think? I did cut some stuff, but I needed to make room for a little of my OC. She will be more involved as it goes along. These first few chapters are just setting up the plot. It's hard starting in the middle, but it works with this story, trust me. This is based off of the first anime, but will have some Brotherhood aspects to it. Eh, I hope this works. This was based off of the Brotherhood episode but had the motives of the 1st one.<strong>

**PLEASE REVIEW! I will sick Scar on you if you don't! Perhaps our favorite palm tree too...**


	3. Train to Risembool

**Hi! I'm back again. This one was written all in a burst of inspiration so I have a good feeling about it. Please let me know it there are any grammar/spelling errors so can correct them, but other than that I have nothing to say but REVIEW! I need reviews!**

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><p>The train ride was unbearably long. People had always said Keari was a busy body, but it wasn't true. She tried to keep herself buisy at all times because it didn't give her time to think. Thinking to much was unhealthy, she had learned at a young age. Thinking when she was younger had been an escape from reality into her own mind, now, it was torture. She had to live in the present reality, not in the past she would never claim. <em>There was nothing to be gained in chasing down daydreams, nothing at all<em>. _If anything, you lost something._ She tended to learn lessons like these the hard way.

Ed, being the ever helpful person that he was, had fallen asleep as soon as the train started moving, clutching the note that Marcoh had slipped him last minute. Ed hadn't explained what it was. She kept catching Al shooting her curious glances from where he sat, diagonally to her. She supposed he was wondering what the hell had happened to her, but it was hard to read a suit of armor. She wondered what he really looked like, under all the metal, what his face looked like. Did he look as young as he sounded? Or, was it as she had orriginally suspected? It was a meaningless assumption, she knew, made without any prior knowledge, but she couldn't seem to let her earlier suspitions go.

Armstrong had taken a the seat across the aisle from them, being that there hadn't been any room for him with Keari sitting next to Ed and Al taking up the seat across from them. He hadn't seemed to mind much, but she felt slightly guilty that she had kicked him out of his seat. Ed had seemed ecstatic when the major had told him that he would be sitting in a different seat, though. _Was he really that bad?_ She _had_ wondered, then he'd taken his shirt off as a parting gesture with Marcoh, and she had her answer.

_It seems strange_, she pondered, _that as hard as I tried, I can't stop thinking._ _Even while I sleep_, she was haunted with memories and thoughts, none of them pleasant. She hadn't had an enjoyable night's sleep in years. Keari envied people who could just seem to shut their minds off and sleep. They always had a peaceful expression on their face as they slept, unlike her, as she'd been told, who seemed to always be frowning in her sleep. Never truly resting. Ed seemed to be one of the people that could sleep anywhere. He looked sweet when he slept, almost completely different than when he was conscious. She smiled, watching the blonde boy beside her; he looked vulnerable. The curve of his mouth, always twisted into a scowl when he was awake, was soft and peaceful looking. She hoped he was having a nice dream. She smiled softly, chuckling softly to herself.

"Good," said Al. She hadn't realized he had been watching her as she let her guard down. She immediately schooled her face back into blankness.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him tentatively.

"You always seem to be smiling," he said, looking down at her, "but you never laugh. It's nice to hear you laugh.''

She blinked at him, surprise registering on her face._ Had he seen right through her?_ "You must be imagining things, Al," she forced a smile at him, shrugging, "I'm fine. You should go to sleep like Edward."

Al, surprising Keari again, shook his head nervously. "I'm, um, not tired!"

"Okay... I was wondering, Al, what brought you to Marcoh and the village?"

He seemed to grow more cheerful at that, glad she had dropped the subject of sleep. "We're looking for something. It's really important to brother and I."

"Oh, okay," she said, itching to get more information, but determined not to interrigate him._ I don't have to know if they don't want me to_, she reprimanded herself. "Just curious," she added with a vague smile.

Ed moved silently, bangs falling into his eyes. She smiled again at his inner peace. "Does he always sleep like that?" she asked quietly, reaching out a hand to push Ed's hair out of his eyes. She pulled it back just short of touching him, letting her hand fall limply into her lap. "So peacefully. Innocent."

Al leaned forward, armor clanking softly. "Most of the time. Sometimes he has nightmares, but most of the times he sleeps like this," he said thoughtfully then laughed quietly. "Sometimes he snores."

Keari moved her gaze from Ed to Al, smiling shyly. She wasn't used to having a personal conversation with someone. She hadn't had the opportunity in a long time. "Really?"

"Yeah, but only if he's really tired. It's kind of sweet."

"Um-hm," she murmurred, playing absently with a ragged lock of hair.

"It's a strange color," Al remarked, noticing the gesture.

"What?"

"Your hair. It's such a light blonde that it's almost white, but it's different than blonde, more silvery."

She let the piece of hair fall from beneath her finger tips, staring at the floor again. ''Yeah," she whispered, memories flashing through her mind like lightning. Inevitable and unstoppable. "My whole family's hair was this color. Or, so I was told. I never knew my parents."

"Oh," Al said, pity in his voice. It somehow annoyed her, although she knew it wasn't his fault. Al was just trying to be nice. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it would be like, to not know my parents." He paused momentarily, thinking about his next words, "I didn't know my dad well. He left when I was young."

She closed her eyes, thinking about what he had said. "Maybe it was better that you didn't know him that well. You would have been in more pain if you remembered more about him."

He mulled it over, then replied decidedly, "I don't think so. I believe that knowledge is always better than ignorance, even if it means more pain."

"I agree with you on that one. Ignorance may be easier to endure, but knowledge will save you from whatever ignorance is hiding you from." She smiled grimly to herself. "Ignorance is a shield and can be penetrated."

"I couldn't have said it any better myself," Ed said, watching her intently. Keari made a startled noise as he sat up, stretching.

"You're awake? How long have you been awake?" she asked him quickly, blinking her silvery blue eyes.

"Only for a few minutes. Relax," he smirked at her, immediately getting on her nerves.

"I like you better when you were asleep," she muttered venomously. Al's laughes echoed inside the armor.

As the brothers argued, Keari looked out the window at the darkness. The moon was bright that night, providing her with enough light to see the country side. It was flat and green, grass rippling like waves in the wind. There were a few trees and an occasional house, but other than that, nothing but grass. Her reflection in the window was unearthly in the moonlight. Her silvery blue eyes, white-blond hair, and pale skin seemed otherworldly. But, when you looked deeper you saw sadness. Sadness and pain. Thankfully, she was a pro at hiding it.

It seemed like forever to Keari before the Elrics finally announced that this was their stop. The countryside hadn't changed much besides adding a few houses and a train platform.

"Where do we go from here?" she asked Ed, peaking around Armstrong, who had insisted opon carrying her small bag of things. She was looking forward to changing clothes; her's were dirty from the fight and she was cold because she had lost her jacket.

Keari shivered. "We have about a mile to walk before we get to the Rockbell's house. We-" Ed stopped, seeing that she was shivering. "Are you cold?"

"No, Edward," she said sarcastically, "I'm just shivering because I feel like it."

"Here," Ed replied, taking off his red coat and passing it too her.

Normally, she would refuse help, but the night air was bitingly cold for late March. Wasn't it supposed to go out like a lamb? "Thanks," she said through gritted teeth, catching the coat lightly. She pulled on the coat, registering that it smelled like him. Like rain, metal, and spices. The smell of spices, she had noticed, was only peculiar to alchemists.

"No problem," he said, walking along an empty dirt road going east. Al started walking after him along with Armstrong but paused, looking back at her. "Coming?"

She looked up at him, armor glinting in the moonlight. "Yeah," she said hurriedly, gathering the material of the oversized coat around herself and hurrying after him.

Soon, they came to a large, two-story house. There was light streaming from one of the windows despite the late hour. _Or was it early?_ Keari couldn't tell anymore, but she knew she was tired.

"Is this it?" she asked Ed, looking at him expectantly.

"Yes. This is i-" he was interrupted by a large wrench, flying from out of no where, that hit him in the forhead. He toppled over backwards as they heard shouting from the second story balcony.

"I TOLD YOU TO CALL BEFORE YOU CAME!" Keari looked up and found a tall, blond girl standing on the balcony, waving her fist angrily in the air as she shouted. **(A/N: Sorry for all the blond people! My OC just had blondish white hair for a reason, I didn't mean to make this a story of all blondes! Carry on.)**

"Hi, Winry!" Al shouted, waving at the girl she assumed was Winry.

Winry broke off ranting at Ed with a smile, waving at Al. "Hi, Al!"

Keari looked down where Ed had fallen, offering him a hand. He took it, pulling himself to his feet with a grunt.

"Remind me to thank her," she whispered to Ed, who was rubbing his head.

"For what?" he asked her, raising his brows incredulously.

"For hitting you with a wrench."

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><p><strong>Sorry to throw a<em> wrench<em> in your hopes if you wanted a mushy EdxOC fanfiction. This, I admit, will probably be EdxOC, but it's not going to be tooooo mushy, promise. Please review! I really love them and willl answer you. I have Barry here, and he wants to chop some people up so if you don't review... Muahahahaha...**


	4. Friends and Mechanics

**Helllloooooo! It's me again! I have returned from the lands of laziness with a burst of inspiration. Yup. I also wanted to thank all the people who have reviewed, favorited, and alerted my story and me. Some people are actually following me! I still can't believe it... Anyway, I wrote this chapter in two sessions, the first two paragraphs were the first session and the rest is the other. You can tell the difference. Anywho, review! ON WITH THE STORY!**

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><p>Winry, as it turns out, was an very agreeable person to everyone except Ed. She and Granny Pinako welcomed Keari into there home as if she were family coming back for a visit. It was a new experience for Keari. She had never visited any relatives or even met them so she felt very awkward accepting their hospitality. The first thing Winry did was make sure Ed hadn't broken her "precious automail" as she'd said, wrench at the ready. <em>She really was a gearhead<em>, Keari mused, _to the core._

"Well," Winry said uncertainly, ''What are you doing back here if you're not here for a tune up?"

"Um, we need you," Al started hesitantly, "to fix Keari's automail."

"Keari's automail," Winry repeated, looking Keari over. When her gaze reached her limp automail arm, she immediately narrowed her eyes and growled, "When was the last time you had it fixed?" Her glare could have melted steel. Lots of steel.

Keari gulped and shrank back in on the couch she was sitting on. "Um, well..." she trailed off.

"When?"

"When I first got i-" Winry's wrench met head with a thunk. She flinched back into the couch, trying not to let the furious gearhead know just how much her wrench hurt. To be quite honest, it hurt like hell. She felt a stab of pity for Ed; _he had to deal with this wrench-happy chick whenever he visited. Maybe Winry's wrench was stunting his growth. Hmm..._

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU FIRST GOT IT!" Winry shouted, waving her wrench menacingly in the air. Keari rubbed her head, eyeing the death machine carefully. "Someone worked hard to make you that automail and you just waste it! I mean, automail is a precious art! How could you-"

"Wait a minute!" Keari yelled back at her, vaguely registering Ed and Al slip quietly out of the room. "Don't go telling me I wasted this automail! I oiled it everyday since I got it, and the only reason that I _haven't_ gotten it fixed in so long is because I don't have enough money, dammit!"

"That's no excuse!"

"I've barely had enough money to feed myself since my family was killed!"

Winry's eyes widened in surprise, same with Keari's. She hadn't meant to tell her that. _See, this what you get when you let your temper get the best of you_, she chided herself. Her inner voice sounded shockingly like her sister.

"I-I'm sorry," Winry said, lowering her wrench to her side. "I didn't kno-"

"No," Keari said wearily, suddenly feeling exhausted, "I couldn't have expected you to know. Sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you with my problems."

Winry held up a hand in protest, but she waved it away. "Please, I'd just like to go to bed, if that's alright."

Winry chuckled. "You really are just like them. Never trusting anyone with your problems just because you don't want to bother them or put them in danger. Just like them," she sighed, gazing at Keari speculatively.

"I-"

"No. Your room is up the stairs, second door on the right. If you need anything, my room's just across the hall."

"Thank you," Keari said, standing up stiffly from the couch. Her bones felt heavy with tiredness. She made her way steadily up the stairs but just as she reached the top, Winry called, "Oh, and, Keari, I'll fix your automail. All three limbs for free."

She stumbled at the top step, numbly she murmurred, "Really? Why?" but Winry had gone.

"So I see you met our favorite mechanic," Ed said from the doorway to her room, noticing the bright red bruise on her forhead.

"Yes," Keari said, trying to be polite instead of telling him to leave her the hell alone. He did hook her up with someone who would fix her automail, for free, even. "She's... unique."

Ed laughed. "Yeah, I suppose that's one word for it." He grinned for a moment then turned more serious. "No, I'm not being fair. She's really great. Winry, Al, and I have been friends since we were kids."

She forced a smile. "That's great. That you're so close to someone, like that. I mean, I never really had any friends when I was a kid."

"Why?"

"Well, it was kind of hard to make friends at the time. Not because I was antisocial, just that things weren't very pleasant." She forced another smile before continuing, "That's great, though. Winry seems like a pretty cool person to be friends with."

"She is. When she's not hitting me with her wrench, that is," Ed said, moving into the room. It was a cozy place, unlike the white walls of doctor Marcoh's house. The walls were wooden, as was the furniture, and the shelfs were decorated with pictures and things. Keari sat on the bed, with a blue bed spread. Winry had apparently laid clothes out for her, and although they were a little big, they were comfortable and clean.

''Winry does seem to enjoy that," she grimaced at the reminder of the throbbing in her head.

Edward nodded, bangs swaying with the movement, "I think Granny's been remodeling. The room looks different," he said fondly, gold eyes softening.

"It does seem nice." She yawned then, mouth open so wide that it hurt. He could probably see down her throat. "Um, Ed. I haven't slept in over twenty-four hours so do you mind leaving? I don't want to sound rude, but I doubt it would be polite if you stayed and I had to kick you out."

Ed waved a hand over his shoulder in dismissal as he said, "Naw. It's fine." He looked back as he shut the door on his way out. "G'night, Keari."

"Good night, Edward."

When he left she turned off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. He was actually an okay person if you looked past his smart-ass comments and snarky attitude. Handsome, too. Handsome? Now, why would she think something like that. It was just stupid. Keari rolled her eyes in the darkness. She was probably just over tired.

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><p>Over the next few days, Winry and Pinako took her measurements and began to work furiously on her automail. They seemed dead set on having it done in record time, even though Keari had told them that she could wait. She spent most of her free time with Ed and Al. They talked with the locals, and they showed her the country side, despite the fact that there wasn't much to see. The two were pretty cool guys, if you didn't count their weirdness. <em>Who wears armor these days?<em> But, Keari refused to pry into their personal life which they seemed to appreciate. They would tell her or they wouldn't. It was that simple.

"Where are we going, Ed?" she asked as they walked along the mainstreet of Risembool, or what passed for a mainstreet_. The town was_ _tiny_.

"To the cemetary.''

"Why?'' she asked, but Ed remained silent. She stayed quiet as well, sticking to her promise to not pry. Al, walking to Keari's left, finally broke.

"We're going to visit our mother's grave.'' She kept her cool, although the news had surprised her.

She wanted to ask a million questions, but instead she simply said, "I'm sorry. I know that probably doesn't mean much, but I truly am."

Both of the brothers kept quiet, this time. The silence was starting to annoy her, but she wasn't so insensitive to break it. They turned onto a grassy field, graves popping up like mushrooms. She started to panic as they made their way across the cemetary. She had many memories of being in cemetaries, but none of them were good.

They finally stopped at a simple, stone grave reading 'TRISHA ELRIC' that was all, besides the birth and death records. She had been young, only in her early twenties. The words seemed to blur together until they read 'REHARRA MIHAN.' She blinked, and the letters returned to normal. Her mind was seriously starting to irritate her. It already tormented her in her dreams, now it had slipped into reality, too? She looked back at the graved. She had far too many memories to be in a cemetary this soon. So soon after Reharra...

Keari took rapid, shallow breaths, and she heard a ringing in her ears. Then, she blacked out.

"Keari! Keari, wake up!" Someone was shouting, she registered slowly. Shouting for her to wake up...

She shot up off the ground where she lay. She was still in the cemetary, but instead of looking at their mother's grave, Ed and Al were hovering around her. Ed looked concerned, but she couldn't tell about Al.

"What the hell happened to you?" Ed asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I-I..." she trailed off. She didn't have an answer. She hadn't passed out before for no reason. "I don't have pleasant memories of cemetaries. I guess they just caught up with me."

Ed gave her one last worried look before turning to Al. "I think we should get back to the Rockbell's. Dinner should be ready soon."

"Uh-hm," Al said from inside the armor. ''Winry will be waiting for us, too.''

The two boys might be pretty good actors, but Keari knew they were only going back because of her. She wanted to protest, but she didn't want to stay in the cemetary any longer than necissary.

When they got home, Pinako already had the table set and dinner was ready. Winry was skipping dinner to work on Keari's automail so it was only the four of them, plus Armstrong. He was rather hard to forget, being that he kept randomly stripping to show off his muscles. Once dinner was finished, and Ed and Pinako had exchanged the normal insults, Keari escaped to her room. She was tired from the day, and was still catching up on her rest. She changed out of her borrowed clothes and into the pajamas, crawling into bed.

Winry was pretty cool, too, if you didn't count her automail obsession. She had a feeling she would become pretty good friends with her, if they met again after this. She envied her. She was the pretty blond girl that everyone wanted to look like. Not to mention her boobs, Keari added, thinking about her own flat chest. But, she shouldn't envy her. Winry was nice. Ed seemed to like her. He sure had a lot of good things to say about her, not to mention that they'd known eachother since they were kids. They would be a sweet couple.

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><p>Today was the day. Hell day, as Keari called it. Today was the day that they would connect her automail. They had disconnected her automail the night before, giving her two spare automail legs to walk on. She could do without her arm for the night. She was scared, but she had done it before so it shouldn't be as bad. She still remembered the pain.<p>

But, now, as she lay on the surgery bed, she wasn't so sure she had been correct. It had been years since she had had it connected. _No, the pain would be just as bad._

"Ready?" Winry asked from her right side, setting the automail arm down next to her shoulder. Pinako came in and set the legs down in their places, also. Al had said he was going for a walk, but she knew he just didn't want to be around for the reconnecting of her automail. She didn't know where Ed was.

Keari gritted her teeth. "Yes," she said. "I'm ready.''

"Great!" Winry replied cheerfully. She was obviously hoping that her positive attitude would rub off on Keari. It wasn't going to happen.

"Just curious, but where's Ed?"

"Hmm... I'm not honestly sure, but he's probably around. Maybe he went with Al...?" Winry shook her head, pony tail bouncing. She smiled slightly.

"Okay." Keari took a deep breath in preparation. "I'm ready.''

"On the count of three," Pinako said in her cracked voice.

"One!" Metal touched her skin.

"Two!" The metal pressed harder.

"Three!" The nerves connected. Waves of pain overwhelmed her. It felt as if her limbs were being taken away again, except there was no relief of unconsciousness. Keari allowed herself to scream once, before she gritted her teeth at took the pain silently. She had done this once, and she'd do it again. She must have screamed pretty loudly because Winry winced. Keari closed her eyes, waves of pain still echoing from each place that had been connected. She didn't even want to think about moving. She opened her eyes again when she heard footsteps enter the room. It must have been a good hour later because Winry and Pinako had left a while ago.

"You did good," Ed said, settling down in the chair next to the bed.

"I'm sure," she said sarcastically, through teeth still gritted from the pain. "I bet you didn't scream like that."

"I did." She shot him daggers. "The first time," he ammended.

"Yeah, but you were just a kid, then," Keari mumbled.

"True, but you're not exactly an adult."

"Neither are you," she retorted. To her surprise, he laughed.

"I'm going to kick your ass when you're better, mark my words.''

A tall sillouette appeared in the doorway, outlined by the sun. Only one person could be that large... "HOW DARE YOU THREATEN AN INJURED WOMAN!" Armstrong bellowed, stepping into the room.

"What are you doing in here," said a very pale Edward, shrinking back. She didn't blame him. If Keari had been able to move without an obsene amount of pain coursing through her body, she would be, too.

"I came to help her regain her strength by allowing her to gaze upon-"

"Your abs," she groaned from the bed. She was tired, annoyed, and in pain. Who cares if she was rude for once? "Please, just go."

"But, miss-''

"No," she sighed. Her sister had better not be laughing at her from wherever she was right now. "It's not your fault, I just need to get some rest. So, please. Go?"

"Of course, miss Keari," Armstrong said, looking slightly dejected. He left the room.

"Nice move,'' Ed said, relaxing from his tense position.

"Yeah," she sighed, hating her rational self. "But, I'm probably right. I should get some sleep if I want to be back on my feet in the next few days."

Ed stood up, stretching his arms, "Oh. I guess that's right. You know, you seem to enjoy kicking me out your room.''

Keari smiled painfully, ignoring his remark. "Thanks, Ed."

"For what?"

"Everything. The automail, taking me here, helping me in the alley, everything."

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><p><strong>Okay, okay. I'm sorry for the fluff in this chapter. I really am. But, just to let all of you 'it's moving waaay to fast to be realistic' people know, Keari doesn't realize this. She doesn't even think of Ed in a romantic way because she's been alone for so long she doesn't recognise it. Really, I promise this won't be mushy. Promise. The real plot and action starts after this chapter so hang in there. Really, these first few chapters have just been setting up the story so I can do character developement later. I normally suck at it, but this time I'm going to do it right! Yeah. Enough of my rambles. Review? Please?<strong>


	5. Leaving Paradise

**Hi again! I don't normally update so quickly, but I had an idea so I said what the heck. Yay for inspiration. I would like to thank my reviewers and favoriters/alerters. You guys rule more than the fuhrer. :D I'm excited. I'm also sick. I have streppe throat so I don't know when the next update will be, but hopefully it'll be soon. "_" Yeah. Oh! And, another thing, there has been some confusion on how you pronounce Keari's name so I'll clarify for you. It's Key-ar-ee. Keari. Yup. That's it for now!**

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><p>The next few weeks passed in a blur for Keari. She was on her feet two days after connecting her automail, but it was slow going. Several times she had almost face planted only to be saved by a very smug Ed. Al was out of the house a lot of the time, lately, but everyone said it was just because he didn't like to see people in pain so Keari didn't feel too guilty. It was strange to be so helpless, strange and irritating. Several times she forgot about the pain and almost strangled Ed, only to be reminded when she crashed gracelessly to the floor. As said, it was slow going.<p>

On the third week after having the automail connected, Ed made a startling announcement. They were all sitting down at the dinner table, Keari massaging her stumps, Winry taking notes from a random automail book, Pinako slicing the beef. It seemed normal, routine.

"Well," Ed started, checking to see if Winry was reaching for her wrench yet, "Al and I are going to be heading back to Central tomorrow." Al fidgeted, nervously glancing at Winry.

"What!" Keari exclaimed, head snapping up in alertness. "Why so soon?"

"Now, now, Keari," Pinako said, shooting her a withering look. Keari's sudden movement had upset the gravy boat at her elbow, not to mention it was hardly good for her recently connected automail.

Winry looked up more slowly than Keari, as if she had been expecting the sudden declaration. "I guess I knew you were going to say that," she said, pushing her blond hair out of her eyes with a flick of her wrist. Her blue eyes pierced their souls as she asked, "But, Keari's right. Why so soon?"

"Doctor Marcoh gave us information as to where his notes are," Al explained in an excited tone of voice. "We think that it might give us some important clues as to how to get our old bodies back!"

Keari looked down at the table slowly. She shouldn't feel sad that they were leaving being that she had only met them a few weeks ago, but she did. Their presence had seemed perminant here, almost fixed. And, now, they were leaving. Another problem was the fact that she had no idea what they were talking about when they said they wanted to get their old bodies back except for her own suspicions. "I guess I can't argue with that," she said with faux cheer. She could tell they could see right through her.

"Yeah," Ed said hesitantly, studying her face. "We'll leave at sunrise tomorrow." He glanced around the quiet room, an awkward silence as thick as early morning fog. "Speaking of which, has anyone seen the major? I should let him know when we leave."

"I thought I heard him say he was going to chop more wood before dinner," Keari suggested, not looking up.

"Thanks," she heard him say as he walked out.

"I'd better go, too," Al added and followed his brother out the door.

The room was silent for a moment before Winry said softly, "You know they'll be back soon, right?"

"Why?"

"Well, with the way Ed treats his automail, they'll be back for repairs before you know it."

Keari burst out laughing. It was thin and uneven, but it was definitely laughter. Perhaps Al was right, she thought, she was always smiling, but she never laughed. It was scary that someone had seen through her.

Winry joined in her laughter, and soon, so did Pinako. When Ed and Al returned, Armstrong in tow, they were all laughing. Ed froze in the doorway a moment before smiling.

Soon they were talking like they had done every night for the past few weeks, but this time, there was an underlying curtain of sadness. Was this the way it was when a relative went away? Keari wondered. She had few memories of family other than her siblings, and her siblings had always been with her until... She pushed the thought aside.

"Well, if we're leaving early tomorrow, we should probably get to bed, boys," Armstrong said in his deep voice. Ed started to refuse but was met with a glare from the major that turned his protests into a vigorous nod.

"Night," Edward said.

"Good night, Ed," Keari said quietly.

Winry, Armstrong, and Al followed Ed out the door, each muttering their own excuse. That left only Pinako, Ed, and Den in the room.

"Um, Mrs. Pinako?"

"Yes?"

"I'd like to take a walk, if that's okay. To clear my head," Keari asked the old woman. She smiled faintly.

"I'm not stopping you," Pinako replied, clearing the table.

"Thank you. I'll be back in a while."

The night air was cool on Keari's skin as she walked slowly away from the house. Her automail still caused her a lot of pain, but she ignored it. Pain was pain and could be beaten.

She followed the dirt path away from town. It crossed through a valley full of purple flowers and soft, blue-green grass, making the air smell sweet and fresh. She had always had a particular fondness for wild flowers, but she rarely got to see them, being that where she was from was pretty barren and dry.

When she had gone maybe two miles from the house, she sat down in the tall grass to rest her aching stumps. Her loose pants and shirt fluttered in the wind. Although Winry promised that the next time they got to a larger city they would get her clothes, they hadn't yet. She was glad that she hadn't forced them to spend even more money on her; the automail was already too much for them to do for her. She had yet to figure out why they had done it for her in the first place.

She lay back on the soft grass, running a hand through her hair, already damp with night mist. She closed her eyes. A soft thud alerted her to the sound of approaching footsteps. She studied the sound of the footsteps for a split second, annalyzing it. They were too far apart to be Ed's or Pinako's. There was no sound of clanking metal so it couldn't be Alphonse. Winry or Armstrong would not be sneaking up on her which meant- a threat.

Keari lay there with her eyes shut, just listening to the footsteps getting closer, and closer to her until she could have sworn they were right on top of her before she made her move. She propelled herself backwards on the grass, flipping her legs up and onto the shoulders of the attacker. She opened her eyes. The person whose shoulders she was on was a tall, dark haired man with a deep crimson tunic on. She couldn't see with face, just that he seemed well-dressed and hostile. He twisted under her, trying to throw her off. She wasn't going to let go so easily. She wrapped her arms around the man's throat, trying to close off his air while he writhed underneath her. Then, the pain she'd been ignoring came back full force. It started in the stumps of her legs then moved to her arm. Great. So now she was fighting against the pain and a grown man at least twice her size. The pain actually was worse.

The dark haired man arched his back, then threw her over his head, making her land on her back with a thud. The world spun for a moment before she lept to her feet again and launched herself at the man.

Well, that was the intent.

Before she could even move, two more people grabbed her from behind. She couldn't move. She kicked out with both her legs but couldn't make contact with anything. Before she could come up with any better solution, she saw something metal coming at her face. Then, she slipped away into the lands of unconsciousness.

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><p>The tall dark haired woman turned into the alley, her blood-red lips curved up in a cruel smile. Everything was going according to plan. She pulled open a door and strode inside, making sure she wasn't being followed. The passage was damp and dark, but she wasn't even slightly afraid. Not at all. She came to the room at the end of the hall and was greeted by the sound of snarling animals. It was good to be back.<p>

"Gluttony," she murmurred to the round man sitting in the center of the room. "Do you know when Father will be back?"

"Lust!" he cried running to her, "Father not tell me."

"Well, I see you've returned," said a voice from the shadows.

She smirked. "Yes, Envy. Do you know when Father will come?"

"No," Envy replied, stepping into the center of the room. He was still in his tube-top, skort wearing self. His face harbored his traditional sneer. "He didn't say."

"Oh," she sighed, leaning lazily on Gluttony. "How have things been going here?"

"They've been _alright_. We have been having some trouble with some of the humans in the south. You know the anti-military force, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, it appears they've been growing more powerful. Interfering with our plans."

Lust scowled. Leaning on gloved hand on her hip. "Interfering how?"

"Well," Envy continued, pleased to have information she didn't, "They've been capturing the human's children and teenaged brats and are using them as soldiers. Forcing them to fight against the military."

Lust smiled maliciously for moment before considering how it would effect their plans. "Hmm. We'll need to do something about them soon, won't we?"

"Yeah. Soon. Father wants to make sure they won't be of any use to us before we exterminate them."

Envy and Lust exchanged looks. It would all begin very soon.

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><p><strong>Soooo? That is the beginning of my plot. It's going to be a fairly long fanfic, but not toooo long. IDK I have important news for you! There is a FMAFMAB fan site that I looooove and want you to be a part of, too. It's called www. projectfalchemy. webs. com (I added spaces to fool the computer so there's no real spaces in the link). That's it. Pleeeease go on! If you do, friend me or send me a PM or something. I'm the Moonlight Alchemist.**

**Ta ta for now, my sweet alchemists. REVIEW!**


	6. Xingese Royalty

**Phew. This one was pretty hard for me to write. I don't know why, but it was. I want to thank my reviewers! I got a lot of reviews on the last one so thanks! ^_^ I makes me happy! On with chapter!**

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><p>When she awoke, Keari found herself in a small, metal room. She found it to be remeniscent of a train car, a freight train car. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as the passenger train she had arrived in Risembool with the Elrics on. Then again, it would help if she were there by her own free will. She sat up with a groan as her head spun. Her stumps ached insistantly and when she touched her head, it came away sticky with her blood. She knew that it was not good to exert yourself so soon after getting automail attached.<p>

"So you're finally awake?" said a voice to her right. Keari let out a high pitched noise of surprise. She hadn't even seen the girl sitting motionlessly against the wall. She was young, no more than fourteen, with jet black hair pulled back into two buns on either side of her head. Her green dress was stained in several places and torn at the hem, but other than that, she appeared unscathed. The girl's black eyes twinkled, "I was worried you'd died."

Keari regarded the younger girl cautiously, meeting her gaze. She isn't a threat, Keari decided, if she wanted to kill me, wouldn't she have done it while I was unconscious? "Who are you?" she asked.

The girl smiled and said, "I'm princess Myne Shikan, the ninth heir of Xing."

Keari's jaw dropped with disbelief. Xing royalty? "You're...a princess of Xing?"

"That's what I said."

"So, how did you end up here?" Keari asked, breaking the awkward silence that had spread between them.

"Well, I was just walking through town, looking for someone to ask for directions when some guys jumped me from behind!" Myne waved her arms to show her annoyance. "That's it. When I woke up, you were here, unconscious, and so I waited for you to wake up."

"What were you doing in Amestris at all?"

"Looking for imortality, of course," she replied, looking sceptically at Keari. "There's no _way_ I can claim the throne for my clan without it."

"You want to become the empress of Xing?"

"Yeah. Who doesn't?" Myne raised her black eyebrows.

Keari shook her head, there was something wrong with this one. Using the wall for support, she started to stand. When she was erect she assessed the room once more, looking for any possible exits. She was jolted from her thoughts when Myne asked, "So, how did you end up here?"

So, Keari explained about how some people had jumped her while she was out for a walk the previous evening. That reminded her, "Do you know what time it is?" she asked.

Myne played with a stray piece of hair as she answered. "Beats me. I don't even know if it's day or night." She looked at Keari curiously for a moment before asking, "So, how'd you lose your legs and arm?"

Keari jerked her head up, ramming it agianst the wall with a metalic clang. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Um, why do you want to know?" she stuttered nervously. Her voice burst through two octives.

"Just curious, sheesh." Myne rolled her black eyes. "Don't be such a spazz." She stood lightly from the floor. She...was taller than Keari.

"How old are you?" she asked mildly, but inside she was raging.

"Twelve."

"Of course you are," she muttered flatly. There were no windows in the metal room, not even a door. She started to run, stumbled, then walked carefully over to one of the small walls of the room.

"What are you doing?" Myne asked, peeking over her shoulder. "That wall looks pretty ordinary to me."

Keari smirked. "It did to me, too, until I took a closer look. See these marks?" she ran her fingers over the slight notches in the wall. Myne nodded hesitantly. "Well, these are a sign that there was an alchemist her. They must have transmuted the wall to get in and out."

"So _that's_ how they got us in here!" Myne exclaimed, waving her arms expressively. She reminded Keari of a bird, just in the way she acted. She also reminded her of Rehara. "I was wondering why there weren't any doors or windows!"

Keari's brows furrowed in concentration, "Yes. That does solve that puzzle."

"But, it doesn't help us any, right?"

Keari grinned fiercely at the younger girl. "That's where you're wrong. This tells us there is an alchemist with the people who captured us."

"But, how does that help us?"

"It let's us know what we're going up against."

"Ed! Wake up!" Al called, shaking him vigorously.

"What the hell, Al! It's not time for our train to leave yet!" he snapped, rolling over to burry his face in the pillow.

"Brother! Keari's gone missing!"

"What!" Ed sat bolt upright, paling considerably. "What do you mean _missing_?"

"Just what I said," Al said. "Granny saw her last night saying she was going for a walk. She didn't come back after that."

"You don't think she could have just run away?" Winry asked, appearing in the doorway.

"No. She wouldn't have done that," Ed said, getting out of bed and stretching. He grabbed his clothes and disappeared into the bathroom, reappearing moments later, fully dressed. Not waiting for any of them, he walked out of the room and headed downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Pinako. Is there any way she could have been captured? I mean, any suspicious activity?" he asked the old woman as she smoked her pipe thoughtfully.

"I don't know, Ed," she said. "It's not like we have any gangs here."

He slammed his fist down on the table. "Damn it!"

"What is it, brother?" Al asked, coming into the room with Winry close behind.

"They didn't leave us any clues!"

Winry pinched the bridge of her nose. "What should we do? I mean, we can't just let them take her. Whoever _they_ are."

"What direction was Keari headed when you saw her going out for a walk before she was taken?" Ed asked suddenly.

"Hmm... Well, she was headed along the north road," Pinkao said blowing out a ring of smoke.

"Let's go, Al," Ed called as he ran out the door.

The followed the road until they got to a valley filled with wild flowers, all of them purple. It seemed untouched, a secret oasis. He took a deep breath.

"Brother!" Al said, sounding alarmed.

"What is it?" Ed asked although he was half afraid of what the answer would be. He walked over to where Al was standing in the grass.

"Look."

He saw that the grass was flattened in one area and next to one of the bushes there was an indentation deep enough to show the dirt underneath the thick carpet of grass. Ed walked over to the bush and peered around it.

"Al," he murmurred tensely.

"What, Ed?" Al said as he came to stand beside him.

"See that? It's blood."

"So what do we do now?" Myne asked, coming to kneel beside Keari.

"We wait. It's all we can do," she replied, studying her. Rehara's hair had been a light silvery color, not unlike her own, instead of black. Her eyes had been different, too. They had been more like Keari's, but had possessed light red flecks in them...

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hmm?" Keari blinked, startled from her comparisons. "Oh. It's just that you remind me of someone I knew once."

"Really?" Myne said, eyes lighting up with interest, "Who? Was she nice?"

Keari laughed softly but said nothing.

"Please. Please, tell me?" Myne pleaded seriously.

She looked at the ground before finally saying, "I suppose. Her name was Rehara, and she was my sister. She didn't look at all like you, but her personality was a lot like yours." Her lips curved up into a small smile.

"Why do you say 'was?'" Myne asked though Keari could tell she already knew the answer.

"She died," she said without emotion.

"Ah. Um, sometimes it makes it better to talk about it. How did she die?"

Keari shook her head at her, but she surprised herself by blurting out, "She was murdered. By a soldier." She couldn't answer why she said that to Myne. She barely knew her, but, she figured, it was her similarity to Rehara that made her feel comfortable.

Myne gasped softly, eyes widening. She inched a bit closer to her. "Why?"

"It was for something our parents did. Something frowned upon." She was barely aware that Myne was listening anymore, besides, she was too lost in her memories to care. "It sta-" but just as she started talking, the room was flooded with the bright blue light of alchemy. Someone was opening the door.

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><p><strong>It was shorter than I planned, but it's here. Evil cliffy of doom. Muahahahahhaha... . Yeah. Anyway, pleeeeeeease review! Pleeeeeease! It keeps writing. <strong>


	7. Options of Pain

**Hi! Okay, now on with the chapter!**

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><p>The door seemed deisintegrate <strong>(AN: Yes, I realize that is spelled wrong, but I couldn't find the right one. :/) **in a burst of light that expelled the energy of a transmutation. Keari had once savored the feel of that energy, passing through her finger tips, giving her the power of a god. But, that was before that power had taken her world. It was only equivilent exchange after all.

"Keari!" Myne shouted from across the room, tearing her eyes unwillingly from the light.

The door vanished, taking the light with it, and a tall man stepped through the now open doorway. He was burly, with a neck the size of a tree trunk and arms that could compare with Armstrong's. Although, whereas Armstrong was all dignity and perfection, he was more ruggid and less polished looking with a dark, matted beard. It wasn't just the beard that gave him a less than civilized feel; his eyes were wild and the right kept twitching. It unnerved her in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Myne appeared to be trying to mold her body into the wall, eyes wide and scared. The man scanned the room, passing over Myne completely, until his gaze came to rest upon Keari. She reflexively masked her emotions, wiping them off her features. As much as she hated to admit it, her hands were shaking out of fear of the insane gaze.

"Ungh," the man grunted, motioning for her to stand. Using the wall as a brace, she stood, much to the dismay of her protesting stumps. Well, here we have a real live neanderthall, she thought irritatedly.

"Keari," Myne said shakily, apprehension creeping into her tone.

Keari's heart clenched at her plea. "It's okay, Myne," she assured her, looking back over her shoulder as the man herded her out into the light. "I'll be fine." I hope, she added silently. Then, she was outside, and she could no longer see Myne. She was worried about her, but that was nothing compared to the fear she felt for herself at the moment.

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><p>Ed and Alphonse walked back to the Rockbell's house, deep in thought. Winry was standing worriedly at the counter, biting her lip and tapping her index finger against it.<p>

"You're back," she breathed as sigh of relief, then her face fell again, "But, you didn't find her, did you?"

"No," Edward muttered, scowling although it hurt him to see her hurt.

"Sorry," Al said kindly.

"Oh. Um, Ed? Al?"

"Yeah?" he met her troubled eyes.

"How much do you know about Keari?"

His brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Hmm... Not much, actually. We met her on the street once then found her getting the shit beat out of her by a gang. Her automail was ruined so we took her to you."

"Oh," Winry said disappointedly, as if she had been hoping for more information...

"Winry. What did you find?"

"I-I didn't mean to pry. I just thought that something in her things might point to who took her. And, and, I found this," she thrust a brown leather bound book at them, almost dropping it in the process.

Ed opened it reflexively, feeling the soft leath brush his finger tips, and he proceeded to read.

_First of all, I'm going to let you know that I don't want to write in this, but the healer in our village says this is a good idea. She says it will help me get over my mental pain, but, to be quite honest, she terrifies me. I'm only doing this because I think she'll eat my face if I don't._

_I suppose I had better start simple, lay out all the facts. One, my parents are dead. Two, my older sister and brother are dead. Three, my sister Rehara is alive. And, four, we are going to find an alchemy teacher._

_That seems to be it, for now. My brother and sister are going to come back. They have to. I truly believe that we can bring them back. I mean, how could it fail if we want it so much? Rehara keeps telling me that mommy and daddy will come home, but I know differently. I know that they're dead, and I know how they died._

"What is this?" Ed asked through clenched teeth, voice rough with emotion.

"Read the title page," Winry replied softly.

"Property of Keari," Al murmurred, reading over his brother's shoulder.

"I'm going to keep this, Al," Edward said, flipping the book closed. "It could give us information on who would kidnap her."

"So what are you going to do now?" Winry asked, suspicion coloring her tone.

"As much as I hate to say it," Ed scowled, "I think we have to go to the military. Damn, that girl, finding her is getting to be more trouble than she's worth!"

"Brother, you don't mean that," Al chided him.

Ed scowled deeper because he was right.

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><p>"It appears the Fullmetal pipsqueak has gone to the military," Envy remarked.<p>

Lust frowned, crossing her arms over her large chest. The dim light coming in through the windows should made it hard to see her movements clearly, but to his enhanced senses, it wasn't difficult. "Well, we can't have him interfering, now can we," she said.

"Can I eat him?" Gluttony asked from the corner where he munched happily on the remains of a rat.

"No, remember, he's an important sacrifice."

Envy looked distainfully at the plump homunculus. "Father told me to tell Wrath to keep a tight leash on that Flame Colonel. We don't want him to meddle any more than he already is." Envy look of distain turned to one of disgust. "_Humans_."

"Yes," Lust leaned on Gluttony's shoulder. "What should we do?"

"Hmmm..." he murmurred, scratching his neck thoughtfully. "Let's put it in charge of our beloved 'Fuhrer.' We can keep tabs on it and keep the military dogs from assuming anything." He smirked.

Lust nodded, lips curling into a cruel smile. "Very good, Envy. You should go see Wrath to let him know of our plans."

Envy nodded, changing into the form of a blond soldier. "I'll be back. Report back to Father what I told you."

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><p>The light was blinding to Keari's eyes, but the man, or ape, as she had now taken to calling him, didn't give her much time to adjust before he wrapped a cloth band tightly around her eyes and tied it in the back of her head. He then followed by grabbing her wrists and tying them behind her back. She had trouble judging the distance between the prison she shared with Myne and their destination for the simple reason that she kept tripping. It was hard to keep balance without her arms. After a few moments, the sound of people talking alerted her to their arrival at the ape's destination. She briefly considered making a run for it, but realized that she couldn't bring herself to leave Myne. Not to mention that there might be more people trapped here. Still, even after she had found the resolve to stand her ground, she could not stop her hands from shaking.<p>

"Good, Omart," said a slimy voice. "You brought the girl."

Keari kept her face blank, but she had a feeling she wouldn't like whoever the own of the voice was. "Ughn," Ape, now she knew as Omart, grunted thrusting her forward. She almost fell, but then she felt a strong, thin-fingered grip replace the ape's on the tops of her arms. She cringed at the touch.

"Alright, girl," the man murmurred menacingly, stroking her cheek, "No trouble or you'll regret it."

Keari resisted the earge to jerk the man off, and remained silent.

The man led her closer to the voices, and thrust her threw something. A curtain, maybe, she wondered, wishing that she could see where they were going. The room became deathly silent as the man reached up, and not gently, yanked the blindfold from her face.

The first thing Keari noticed was that they were in a tent. A very large one. The next thing she noticed was that it was full of people...and they were all staring at her.

"This is the girl?" a blond man asked. He was tall, but not abnormally, with blond curly hair and bright blue eyes. A dark haired woman stood beside him, eyeing her like she was a piece of meat. The look, plus the bystander's stares, made her shiver involuntarily; she was badly outmatched, outnumbered, and outskilled. Yup. The odds weren't in her favor. What are all these people gathered here for?

"Yes," the man who had led her here replied. He was of an average height with black hair, and mucus green eyes, not kidding. He even _looked _untrustworthy!

"Hmmm..." the blond man walked around her, as if to inspect her. "A little, tiny thing, isn't she, Lawrence?"

Keari's eye twitched.

"Oh, yes, sir," the black haired man, Lawrence, said.

Flen, the blond man, walked over to her and grabbed her chin, jerking it up to look her in the eye. "Listen, girl. We have some questions, and you are going to answer them. Understand?"

Keari dropped her mask, changing tactics. This was what she had been waiting for. "What kind of questions will you be asking me?" she asked, glaring at the man with frigid silvery blue eyes, fear mixing with anger. Of course, she wouldn't allow him to see the fear.

He narrowed his eyes at her, meeting her severe gaze, "Questions about your involvement with the military. Your connection to the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric and his brother, Alphonse Elric."

Her eyes widened in shock, and she stood frozen for a moment. Then she burst out laughing. She laughed until she tears came to her eyes, and her breath came in painful pants. Everyone was staring at her like she was insane. "I-I don't- know-anything," Keari panted, fighting another burst of laughter. Maybe she was. She wouldn't normally do something like that; it must be shock.

Flen scowled at her. "We. Do. Not. Buy. It."

All thoughts of laughing left her mind as it hit her. They were looking for information that she didn't have. But, they didn't know she didn't have it, and, judging from the looks on their faces, they weren't going to be convinced.

"First question, what were the Elric's doing in Risembool?" Flen asked with a stern gaze.

"Taking me to an automail mechanic."

"What's your connection to them?"

"They took me to get automail when mine broke. That's it."

"Why did they take you to this particular automail engineer when there are so many in Rush Valley?"

"I don't know. I think they thought that she would charge less."

"Why would the Elric's waste time helping you? They are working on some kind of project; why would they stay in Risembool with you?" He raised and eyebrow at her suspiciously.

Keari's eyes widened with surprise. Why _had _they stayed with her? Why had _he _stayed with her? "I-I don't know."

"Why is it you're so important to them? What do they possibly have to gain by taking you in? You're just a girl."

"I don't know."

"What are they planning?"

"I. Don't. Know."

Flen looked at her for a brief moment before giving a slight nod to the woman at his side. She grinned, pulling a knife out her belt at an unearthly rate; she lunged at Keari. Keari jerked herself backwards to avoid the woman's blade, but her back rammed into the table, sending spazms of pain througout her body. The moment of hesitation was enough for the woman to strike.

The woman, using a skillful precision that said she had done this many times before, swiftly slid her knife into Keari's face, slicing a thin path through her skin. The jerked from above her left eyebrow, passing over the bridge of her nose, to the middle of her right cheek.

Keari glared them all with her right eye, being that her left had been temporarily blinded by the blood trickling steadily from where the woman had cut her. She scowled, causing a sharp pain in her face as the movement tugged at the edges of the wound.

Flen smiled serenely at her. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

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><p><strong>Phew, this one took me forever to write! I could not get it write, not to mention that I saved it in the Doc Manager but then tried to do the rest of the chapter, but it didn't save so I had to rewrite it. That made no sense at all. I had to rewrite half the chapter because it didn't save, that's better. Anyway, thank you soooo much to all my reviewers! I love you all so much. I literally was crying from some of the good things you guys had to say. So thank you! PS: This rewritten chapter is dedicated to Nayru Elric for pointing out Keari's Mary-Sue-ness. I hopefully have made it a better, but I can still detect an air of MS-ness. Let me know if she's turning into a Mary-Sue! I may have to destroy my computer if I can't save her from the perfection!<strong>

**THANKS! NOW CLICK THE LITTLE BLUE BUTTON TO SAVE A KITTEN AND MAKE AL VERY HAPPY!**


	8. All the Angles

**Hi again. This chapter is definitely shorter than others, but that's only because the next chapter is going to be longer, and I couldn't figure out a way to separate the two chapters without doing this. Sigh. SHOUT OUT TO THE OCEANDREAM ALCHEMIST! She was the fiftieth reviewer. So yeah. On with the chapter!**

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><p>"Fullmetal. Alphonse. I wasn't expecting you," the colonel Mustang raised his eyebrows at him.<p>

Ed scowled in reply, rolling his eyes as he said, "Well, I wasn't exactly planning to be here, either."

"Then what brings you here? It's not a _little_ coincedence, is it?" Mustang smirked at down at him from where sat behind his desk as Ed and Alphonse took their seats.

"Who are you calling so little they could get eaten by a bug, you jerk!"

"Brother," Al sighed from behind him.

"I didn't say that," Mustang smirked, standing to his full height.

Ed inhaled deeply, a vein in his forhead twitching. "Look, I'm not here for a chat-"

"I didn't think you were," the colonel muttered.

"Just shut the hell up and listen! We met this girl, her name was Keari, at one of the villages we were at; she got into a fight, but we helped her. During that time, she broke her automail so we took her to Winry."

"Fullmetal, I don't need to here about your little girlfriend. Unless you want dating advice, you could have just ask-"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Edward shouted, face turning beet red.

"I-" Mustang started, but Al interrupted him.

"Look, Colonel, Keari's gone missing, and we can't find her. You have to help us find her," Al finished, looking slightly embarassed for interrupting.

Mustang's eyes widened in surprise, all traces of humor disappearing from his features. "Wait, you took her to the Rockbell's home in Risembool, correct?" Ed nodded, still fuming; Mustang's brow furrowed. "There have been rumors of an anti-military group's base being near Risembool. This eastern military has been planning to check it out for a while now."

"What!" Ed's lips parted with shock. He hadn't been expecting news like this. If anything, he had been expecting the Colonel bastard to refuse to help them. Now, there was an anti-military group involved. A sickening thought hit him. "Colonel, you wouldn't think that if the anti-military group had been watching us, they would have seen Keari with us and thought that she was with us? Do you think they'll believe she knows what we're doing, some top secret military plans?"

Mustang nodded gravely, "Now what exactly happened when that girl, Keari, was taken?"

"The pieces are in place, Master," Gwen reported with a bow.

"Wonderful. Could you get anymore information out of that girl? The one with the silvery hair and eyes," he prompted, giving the soldier a lazy look.

"No, sir. Once Marren was through with her, she passed out. Doctor Carse gave her medicine to clear her head and fed her, so she's all right now, but we decided to stop questioning her for tonight. She is back in the metal prison with the other girl," he finished with a little nod, proud of himself for recalling it all. Newbies.

"Very could, Gwen. Speaking of which, what about the little Xingese girl?"

"She hasn't answered yet. She wasn't sure on the possibilities out plans would have for her country."

"Hmmm... That's too bad. She will answer yes and soon. I'm sure of it."

"Master, meaning no disrespect, but how can you be so sure?"

He sighed, the pawns could be so simple minded, "It's simple, really. If she reported back to her king that she had made an alliance with forces that planned to over throw the military if they helped, she would have a better opportunity of inheriting the throne. Besides, once us and Xing have taken control of Amestris, we can over throw Xing, creating one massive country where we rule."

Gwen swallowed discreetly, although his sharp eyes still caught the motion. "Y-Yes, s-sir, I understand now. Excuse me, sir."

He granted him a brief nod as the soldier scurried out of the room. They were such idiots, believing everything, never questioning it. He smiled; he would enjoy the sound of their heads falling from their necks.

"Keari? Are you awake?" Myne asked in a high voice, breaking through the fog of unconsciousness.

Keari groaned, blinking in the darkness. She became aware of a stinging pain in her head, but pushed it aside, trying to remember where she was and what had happened to her. She had passed out shortly after that woman had cut her...She put her hand to her forhead and felt the cloth bandage, taped to her skin to protect the wound from infections. Why had they done that much for her? They didn't care about her, that's for sure. But, they did want their information. That was it, she decided. They wanted to keep her healthy to get information out of her. "Myne?" she asked, voice slightly rough from disuse.

"You _are_ awake!" Myne's face appeared in her line of sight. Keari was laying limply on the floor of their metal prison, hair, still slightly stained with blood, splayed around her face. She winced as she sat up, slowly, to give Myne time to move.

Myne opened her mouth but Keari cut her off, "I'm fine. It was just a cut."

"You're hair's still kinda bloody, but you look a bit better. Apparently, the doctor took care of your other head wound, too. I heard one of the guards when they threw you back in here saying that the doctor had also given you medicine to help incase had concussion," she smiled hopefully at her, babbling nervously. She was obviously still worried about her, but Keari couldn't focus on that yet.

"Um, Myne?" The younger girl looked at her, raising an eyebrow in question. "I know this doesn't have anything to do with our current situation, but why are you so young? I don't know much about polotics in Xing, but I do know that you should be older if you are the ninth heir of Xing."

Myne's expression seemed to crumple, and her shoulder's slumped. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that," she murmurred, less to Keari than to herself. "I wasn't supposed to be the Shikan heir. My older brother, Xan, was. He was perfect. I guess that I couldn't have asked for a better brother, but no one was prepared for the assassins that came." Keari was aware of the shock on her face, but couldn't do anything to hide it before Myne registered it. "It's normal to deal with assassins if you're an heir in Xing. They were disguised as servants, but then, during dinner that night, one of them drove a knife into my brother's back." Her eyes took on a slightly haunted look as she lost herself in the past. "There was nothing we could do to save him. The knife, it was coated in poison so he was dead almost as soon as the knife had pierced his skin. The assassins got away."

It took Keari a moment to realize that she was done speaking. The silence was heavy, no sound from outside reaching their ears through the metal box. Silence was another thing that Keari had once loved, but had grown to hate. She was a quiet girl by nature, but silence led to thought, and thought led to memories that would be much better forgotten. It was strange how a person could change so completely, under the right circumstances.

Yet, she could not bring herself to break the silence. To be quite honest, it seemed as if Myne was too lost in her memories to even hear her if she said anything so it didn't really matter. Keari knew that since Myne had told her her sob story, she would be expected to do the same. It was unavoidable. Equivalent Exchange works in strange ways that make sense if you look at things simply and rationally. Rationality and simplicity once had been important, but the world rarely works in simple ways. It always seems that, under the surface, there is something more. Something more powerful than the thing people think is supreme. But, of course, if you look under every layer, getting to the core of the matter, it is simple. You just have to find it.

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><p>Edward quickly flippled open the book and began to read.<p>

_Well, I finally found an alchemy teacher! His name is Hoenheim, but I don't exactly like him. He's a bit weird at times, and I don't know what secrets he might have. It's irritating to say the least. Rehara actually likes him, sort of, but she's a bit nervous around him. I don't blame her. If I had any other options, I wouldn't learn alchemy from him, but we've been everywhere! With no luck of finding a master. Then again, the one thing I can't say against Hoenheim is that he has got some awesome alchemy skills._

_xxxxxX0Xxxxxxxx_

_It's kind of strange to do alchemy this way. He's been teaching us well, but we're still on the basics. I wonder what Shany and Bren would think about it. I know they had a lot of anger at the alchemists and alchemy, but it's not that bad! Honestly. Although, I can see where they're coming from. After all, it did kill our parents._

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><p><strong>This last part wa a hint to the future, but you probably don't see the truth within the truth. Yeah... Anyway, I really liked writing this chapter. Unnamed villains are so fun to write! Same with Keari's thoughts. Plus, the next chapter will be mostly journal entry so look out for the past. Dun dun dun...<strong>

**OH! By the way, if you like this story so far, check out my other one called "Izumi's Third Apprentice." Yes, another OC's encounters with the Elrics, but this time there's no happy ending.**


	9. Memories of Light

**This one is shorter than the others, but it's reeeeeeally important to the story so hopefully I did well on it. It was fun to write, actually. :D I tried not to start from the beginning, but her parents stories were VERY important so I couldn't help but write them.**

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><p>Myne looked at Keari expectantly, eyes full of open curiosity. She reminded her so much of Rehara at that moment that she didn't hesitate before she began to speak.<p>

"You already know about my sister Rehara, but she wasn't my only family. I used to have parents and two other siblings."

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><p><em>Wow. It's been a while since I last wrote, hasn't it. Well, in my defense, I've been busy learning alchemy! But, healer Marita called last night to ask if I had been writing in it so I had to lie through my teeth. I, hopefully, won't be subjected to that kind of terror again, and, to prevent it, I am going to write in this journal consistantly now. She terrifies me...<em>

_Anyway, when she called last night, she not only made sure I was writing in the journal she gave me, but also told me that I needed to record my past in it. It's really annoying how she gave me it to write my thoughts in it, and help me heal, but now she also wants me to relive the reason I have to heal! But, if she says it will help me get back on my feet and get Rehara up on hers, then I'll do it. But, it's not going to be pretty._

_Before the Ishvallan rebellion, my mother worked as a soldier at a base near by. My father was an Ishvallan. Before the rebellion, as my sister and brother used to tell me, they fell in love and soon were married. They had my sister older sister, Shany, and my older brother, Bren, then had me and Rehara. Rehara was very young during the rebellion and doesn't remember anything, but even though I, too was young, I still remember the screaming. My mother had managed to stay hidden from the military, so she wouldn't be forced to fight, until one night._

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><p>Keari looked up at the ceiling, and started again in a detached voice, "One night, in the peak of the rebellion, a state alchemist visited our neighborhood. My Shany and Bren told me that my mother and father were killed there, but all I remember is an explosion. A wall of red closing in on us. I don't know how, but Shany and Bren escaped Ishval with me and Rehara, filling the role of mother and father. I remember almost nothing about my parents, but Shany and Bren were always there."<p>

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><p><em>Shany and Bren fled Ishval with us, going to Broqure, a small village in the west. After that, we managed to stay hidden from the military. The state alchemist that had killed our parents, found us. His name, I later found out, was Solf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist. My brother and older sister were, both killed, but yet again, Rehara and I survived. Several nights after that, Kimblee had murdered several soldiers in Ishval so the military locked him behind bars.<em>

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><p>"I almost killed myself, at that point. I was still only a child, but I was so depressed," Keari met Myne's wide, dark eyes. "But, obviously, I didn't. I'm not going to lie, I would have if Rehara hadn't been there for me to look after. The village healer, Madam Marita, took us in after that. On one hand, she absolutely terrified me, but, on the other, she had such a strong presence, I couldn't imagine her not being there. She made me write in a journal, to help me heal my mind, and I hated it, but I'll admit, it probably helped. I've always kept that journal, at least, until I was captured." <em>I hope the Elrics and the Rockbells keep it safe while I'm gone,<em> she thought. "It was then that I knew I had to bring my brother and sister back. So, Rehara and I began to learn alchemy, the thing that had destroyed us."

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><p><em>We're finally ready. It's taken forever, but we finally have enough skill to bring them back. This can't fail; we can't fail. I didn't have a chance to bring my parents back, but I'm not going to make that mistake again. The next time I write in here, I will be with my family.<em>

That was the last entry in the book.

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><p>"But, our transmutation failed." Keari's voice cracked on the last symbol. "We tried to bring back what should have stayed dead and it cost me my legs. The legs that I had so often had to pick myself up with. But, the thing I most wanted was to pick Rehara back up again, give her the childhood she should have had. That bastard took that ability away from me. But, that's not the worst of it. I passed out after the transmutation, and when I woke up, Rehara was dead. It was like she had disappeared, but I knew she was dead. So, I, trying to do the impossible again, attempted to bond her soul. I think...I think it would worked if I had thought it out. There was nothing for me to bond her sould to so I lost my arm for nothing. That was all I got: nothing. It was like I had dug myself a hole that the more I dug, kept getting deeper and deeper, and that was the point where I realized I couldn't dig myself back out again."<p>

Keari took a deep breath and met Myne's gaze. "Madam Marita pretty much forced me to get automail. If there's one thing she wasn't, it was sympathetic. I can still remember her exact words, 'ARE YOU GOING SIT THERE LIKE A ROCK AND WALLOW IN PITY! OR ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE SOMETHING OF YOURSELF?'" She grinned a moment, allowing the memory to replay through her mind. "That was what I needed to hear. I'm not saying I'm perfect now, hell, I'm probably insane. But, she helped me to get up, when I thought I couldn't. Soon after that, I left. I couldn't bare to be so close to where so much death had taken place."

Without warning, Myne launched herself at Keari, wrapping her arms so tight around her that she could barely breathe. The contact felt foreign, but somehow, right. Keari wrapped her arms around the small girl so like her sister.

* * *

><p>"You wanted to see me, Fuhrer Bradley?" Mustang asked, stepping into the room.<p>

"Oh, yes, Mustang. Thank you for coming so quickly," he nodded in approval as Mustang closed the door after him, making his way over to where he sat in his desk. "I've heard you're dealing with the anti-military group in the south?"

"Yes, Fuhrer Bradley."

"You are to blow it up."

Mustang's eyes widened fractionally before he said, "With all due respect, sir, I have recieved a report of young woman taken captive by them. Are you suggesting we kill her, too?"

"You know the cost of war, Mustang," Bradley murmurred, "I don't like the idea of killing her anymore than you, but it's our only option. Do you understand?"

"Sir." Mustang left the room, one thought running through his brain. He was being forced to kill a teenaged girl.

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><p><strong>Oooooo... That's grim, even for me. O.O Well, that's about all I have to say until the next chapter. Review, it's equivalent exchange! I give you a story, you give me a review.<strong>


	10. Family and Doctors

**Wow. This one was actually a fairly cool chapter for me to write, hopefully it meets up with you expectations. Anyway, I suppose now would be the time to put another disclamer/claimer.**

**I DO NOT OWN FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST! But, I do own my OC's: Keari, Myne, and Ian. There are a few others, but those are the main characters.**

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><p>"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE PLANNING TO BLOW IT UP!" Ed shouted, hands clenched in fists at his sides.<p>

"It's an order directly from the fuhrer, Fullmetal," Mustang met his eyes squarely, "It will be carried out."

"So you think it's okay?" He demanded. "You think it's okay to just kill her for something she couldn't help?"

The colonel remained silent, fighting for control of his temper. "Or, maybe," Ed moved on, disgust coloring his tone, "You're doing this to get on the fuhrer's good side."

Mustang snapped. "I don't like this any more than you do! It's not like I could just refuse a direct order from the fuhrer!"

"We know, colonel," Alphonse said before Ed could yell back, "Brother doesn't mean any disrespect."

"Yeah, right," Edward muttered.

Al chose to ignore this. "He's just worried about Keari. Is there any way we could save her?"

"I'm sorry, Alphonse. I can't refuse an order from the fuhrer; it's what makes dogs of the military. The bombs are set. They go off tonight at midnight."

* * *

><p>"I'll ask, again! WHAT ARE THEY PLANNING!" Flen shouted.<p>

"I'm telling you, I don't know!" Keari shrieked back, voice cracking.

"Tell me! You don't understand. You don't know what they have done, the kind of pain and suffering the military's caused!"

Keari met his frigid gaze with one of her own, balling her hands into fists. "I do know! I was there in Ishval! The military killed my family! Don't think you know more suffering than I do just because I'm younger than you are!"

Flen did a double take, opening and closing his mouth several times before he could get out the words, "But, but why would you work for the military when you know what kind of hell that was? Why would you work with the Elric brothers?"

She smirked bitterly at him, "You get it now? Do you finally understand that I never was working for the military? The Elric brothers were simply helping me get new automail, simple as that."

"Damn girl," he muttered, shaking his head. "So all that time, all the effort, to get information from you. Information that you don't have."

"Yeah, sucks doesn't it?" she crossed her arms over her chest, hearing the bitterness in her voice.

"Dammit." He sighed and ran a hand through his tangled blond curls. "Well, the least I can do for you is take you to the doctor, have him clean your cut again."

"So, are you going to let me go, now?" she asked, following him out the tent flap. _I don't trust him, but maybe he really believes that I don't have information._

"I'll have to talk to the master, have him decide."

She remained silent for the rest of their brief walk across the wooded camp. Tall oak trees towered above, providing shade in the late afternoon sun.

"We're here," Flen said, entering a medium-sized tent with the tent flap pulled back. There was nothing remarkable about the tent itself, but the sides of the tent had been painted to look like a field of sunflowers. The bright yellows and deep blacks were so realistic she felt as though she were standing there looking at it in reality.

"Wow," she breathed, gawking at the art. _It's beautiful_, she thought.

"Do you paint?"

She turned and found a boy around her own age with dark brown hair and hazel eyes standing in the door of the tent, watching her. She gave a short, mildly embarassed, laugh, "No. I couldn't paint to save my life."

He laughed, coming forward to shake her hand. "I'm Ian, what's your n-"

"Keari," she interrupted him, taking his outstretched hand. "Did you paint this?"

"Yeah," he blushed under her look of awe. She held a new appreciation for this boy.

"My sister used to paint, and she tried to teach me, but I couldn't even paint a straight line."

"You're here to see my father, right? He's the doctor here," he raised his eyebrows at her and smiled.

"Yes, actually. How did you know?" she replied, pushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.

"People don't come here simply for our company. Plus, Flen walked in and announced that he had a patient for us."

"Oh, well, I suppose that would give you a clue," she smiled sheepishly.

Ian laughed again, "You're funny, Keari. Come on, I'll take you to him."

She stood there blinking for a moment before following him inside the tent. She was...funny?

The inside of the tent was basically the same as any doctor's office Keari had ever been to before, albeit a little smaller. Flenning was lounging on one of the small green arm chairs along the wall. A man with graying brown hair and brown eyes was standing in the center of the room, apparently arranging bottles of what Keari assumed to be medicine.

"Dad, I brought you a patient," Ian said to the man. "This is Keari," he introduced her.

"Pleasure to meet you," she murmurred.

"I'm Dr. Mirone. What are you here for?" he asked politely.

"The cut on my face. He," she gestured at Flen, "wanted to make sure it wasn't infected."

"Let's take a look, then, shall we." Mirone gestured at a bed on the opposite wall. She walked over to the bed, sat down, and allowed him to take a look at the wound.

"Well, it doesn't appear to be infected. In fact, I think it's healing just fine," the doctor stood up, stretching his back.

"Excuse me," Flen interrupted, standing from the chair. "I have meetings for the rest of the afternoon so would you mind looking after the girl. Make sure she doesn't escape."

Without waiting for an answer, he breezed out of the room. _I suppose if I had to choose my captor, I would choose Ian and Dr. Mirone._

"Brilliant. I was waiting for him to leave," Mirone walked over to where Ian and Keari stood.

"Why?" Ian asked before Keari could.

"I know a doctor in central, I guess you could say we're friends. He tipped me off that the military was planning to blow this place off the map tonight."

"What!" the two teens exclaimed, shock written all over their faces.

"You heard me. Anyway, we came up with a plan to get you out of here tonight, along with the help of one of the colonels currently stationed in central. It seems that the Elric brothers have been looking for you," he smiled at Keari.

A sudden thought crossed her mind, "What about Myne? I can't just leave her here to die!"

"Calm down. We'll get her out, too. Soon before the explosion, we're going to break her out. Then, you three will go."

Ian digested the information then asked slowly, "But, what about you?"

"I'll stay here," he met his son's eyes.

"But, you'll die!"

"Listen to me, Ian. There's no way I can come with you. My disappearance would be too noticable. You'd get descovered before you could get far enough away to be safe! I can't risk losing you."

"But-" Ian protested, but the doctor cut him off.

"Trust me. I'll get out if I can."

He remained silent so Keari asked, "Where will we go?"

"You'll go to Centrol, and meet with the doctor there."

"What then?"

"You stay out of the radar."

"Okay. I hope you know how much I appreciate you doing this," she murmurred, hiding her face with her hair.

"Just keep him safe. I know you've been through a lot, just from listening to Flen talk. I can trust you to keep my son alive, right?"

She met his gaze, hoping she was worthy of the trust in it. _Why does he trust me? He barely knows me?_ "Right."

* * *

><p>"Just remember, you owe me for this," said the bitter voice on the other end.<p>

"Yeah, yeah," Mustang rolled his eyes even though he knew the doctor couldn't see. "Just follow through with it."

"Don't doubt me, Mustang, I may look at corpses, but I still know how to be alive."

"Alright, I have reports to finish. Call me when they get there." He hesitated. "And, doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Make sure the Elrics know she's alive. They're going to owe me big for this one."

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><p><strong>That was supposed to be some comedy relief, but in such a serious situation, I don't honestly think I got that across. -sigh- Anyway, I think I have enough people reading this at this point to do a ONE-SHOT CONTEST. Here are the ropes.<strong>

**1. You can use any character from FMA/FMAB or even one of my OC's.**

**2. Try to make it over a thousand words, but that's just a preference. You don't have to do that one.**

**3. Let me know via PM or review that you're going to participate! I'll be looking forward to see what you come up with.**

**4. PRIZE: Okay, I know it sounds kind of conceited, but being that I don't really have anything else to give you but bragging rights, you get to make me write a one-shot of your choosing. You tell me what you write, and I'll do it. Please, spare me, and keep it below M. I don't particularly like Yaoi or Yuri or any kind of lemons so please...**

**Anyway. Review! Let me know if you're doing the one-shot contest! Pleeeeease!**


	11. Break outs and Plans

**Hello, my pretties! I'm back from the lands of Briggs! A bit cold for my tastes... Anyway, sorry it's been so long since my last update. I have had a lot of things going on... Wel, here's the chapter! Some action at in this one, finally!**

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><p><em>Keep him alive. <em>The doctor's words whirled around in Keari's head for hours after they had left her alone to go prepare. Why did he trust her so much? Why would he ask her to do that when he quite literally just met her? She knew for a fact she wouldn't trust herself had she been in his shoes so why had he? _I need to stop asking myself questions I won't get answers to,_ she thought, shaking her head as if to clear away the thoughts.

_If you really want to know,_ _ask him!_ Keari stood up from the chair that she was sitting in, registering that it was now dark outside. Doctor Mirane had said that he was going to get supplies and would be behind the tent before he walked out the tent flap. Ian had gone to find some of the supplies that they would need. She had asked if she could help, but they had declined, saying there was nothing she needed to do.

Keari walked out of the tent into the cold, night air. She made her way carefully around the side of the tent, tension building around her shoulders from the darkness. It wasn't the darkness itself that frightened her, just the fact that she couldn't see anything beyond the ten foot radius that was lit by the lamp she held. It flickered, casting shadows along the side of the tent. The leaves rustled in the tree tops.

"Dr. Mirane?" she asked, coming to a stop at the end of the wall. She looked around, searching for the doctor or Ian.

"Yes, Keari?" He came into her view, a small smile gracing his face when she jumped.

"Dammit," she muttered, cringing from how easy it had been for him to sneak up on her. "You startled me."

She noticed that he was carrying some rather heavy looking burlap bags, full of bulky items that Keari couldn't even guess what they were. "Let me take one of those," she offered, closing the distance between them and snatching on of the bags out of his grip. He looked at her with a small smile, rolling his eyes at her eagerness.

"Follow me," he announced, jerking his chin to the left of the tent where lay a few other bags.

She eyed him apprehensively. _Would now be a good time to ask him why he- _"I can tell you have something you want to ask me. Spit it out; I can't answer if you don't ask."

Keari met his brown eyes, a wry smile spreading across her face. She liked his blunt way of speaking. "I know I already asked you why you trust me with your son's life, but I could tell you weren't telling me everything. What else is there?"

His eyes turned serious, face seeming to age ten years. "I used to be a doctor for the military. The last mission I ever did was in Ishval. I was taking care of some of the soldiers when an Ishvallan came in, carrying an Amestrian soldier. He begged me to treat the soldier, and I was just about to agree when one of the soldiers entered and shot the Ishvallan. I ran away soon after, taking my wife and son, and came here. I knew you had Ishvalan blood from the moment you came here, even though you don't exactly look it."

The way he ended it asked a question of its own. "Yes," Keari nodded, "My mother was a blond haired, blue eyed Amestrian soldier, and my father was an Ishvallan. I got his hair and my mother's skin and eyes." There was silence as she held the light up so Mirane could sort through the bags. "Um, Dr. Mirane?" she hesitated, "If I can ask, what happened to your wife?"

"It's fine. She left soon after we joined this group. I know Ian barely remembers her, but he always talks about her as if she'll come back. Some people would hold grudge, but Ian, he's so forgiving, just feels sad about it. He hopes she'll come home," he finished in a gentle tone. He grinned, "I must sound like a proud father, boasting about his son."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, I don't really remember my father well, but I know I would want my father to be proud of me if he were still alive."

"Thank you, Keari. Um, I've only seen blue/silver eyes of your color one other time in my life; are you the daughter of Kamori Miron?"

Keari blinked in surprise. _He knew my mother?_ "Y-yes. Did you..."

"Know her?" the doctor raised his graying brows at her. "Yes. When she was stationed in Central, she and I were fairly good friends. She was a nice girl, kind, but also a real pain when she put her mind to it. Stubborn."

"My sister must have inherited that," she muttered, smiling to herself. It was getting easier the more she did it to talk about her sister, but only slightly.

Mirane looked at his watch, grimaced, and looked at Keari again. "We better finish packing. Ian should be back momentarily, and it's almost time.

* * *

><p>"Brother, what are we going to do?" Alphonse asked, trailing behind the blond alchemist.<p>

Ed glared at the road in front of them, coat billowing out behind him, "Well, we can't let them just blow it up, not while I'm around. Dammit! I can't believe the military is just going to sacrifice all those people! Everyone in that entire camp!"

"Well, they are working against the military," he pointed out.

"That's no excuse! These are _people's_ lives they're messing with! Not animals, people! It's like what happened to Nina," Edward's voice cracked on her name, visions of the girl turned chimera flashing through his brain.

"So what _are_ we going to do, Ed?" Al asked after a brief pause.

"We-"

"There you two are! We've been looking for you for hours!" came a familiar voice behind him, cutting Edward off. He turned around slowly, grimacing at the fact they'd been found so soon. Although, it didn't matter much. They had been heading back through the twisting streets of Central to Central Command, anyway.

"Honestly, I can understand why you'd be worried about your girlfriend, but there's no reason to go running off alone," Sergeant Brosh remarked.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" he scowled at them, eyes narrowed, "Besides, you haven't even met her. Why would you assume she was my girlfriend?"

"The major said was telling us what an 'absolutely charming' couple you'd make. It's fine. When I was your age, I had a different girlfriend every week," the soldier smirked at his furious blush.

"Don't go off alone without us again! They haven't found Scar's body so they aren't sure he's dead. Besides, the major would kill us if you two got hurt," Lieutenant Ross remarked, giving the brother's a stern look.

"Yeah, yeah. It's not like I'm hurt anymore. I can take care of myself," Ed said.

"Brother..." Alphonse said, trailing off disapprovingly.

"Oh, that worked so well the last time," she returned, dryly.

"I was distracted last time!"

"You're distracted now!"

"Look! Brosh and I have to keep you two safe so just make it easier on both of us and cooperate," Ross pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, trying to calm herself.

"Hmph," Ed scowled deeper, realizing it was a losing battle. "Fine. Just stay out of our way."

Both Ross and Brosh saluted respectfully, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"Ed, what are we going to do about-" Alphonse started, but he cut his brother off with a gesture.

"I have a plan. We can-" just as they entered Central HQ.

"Oh, there you are!" Hughes pounced, beaming the smile that could only mean one thing. "I've been looking for you forever, I have information you might be interested in, but first, look at these pictures of little Elysia! Isn't that the most adorable thing you've ever seen!" He held the picture of his daughter in front of their faces.

"Hughes!" Ed exclaimed, cringing.

"What did you need, Mr. Hughes?" Alphonse asked, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, I don't so much have information as I have a warning," he pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his thin nose, "from the colonel..."

Ed groaned. "What now? That damn colonel is getting old."

"Now, now, Ed. Mustang says, 'Don't go upsetting things, Fullmetal. I have them taken care of.'"

"Dammit! He must have known we were going to try to stop it," he fumed, a vein bulging in his forhead.

"Brother? What do you think he means when he said he had things taken care of?" Al asked.

"Probably just wanting us to stay out of the way because he doesn't want us to interfere with explosion. Damn that colonel, doesn't he care about all the people?"

"Hmm..." Hughes sighed, frowning slightly. "Don't you two be getting into trouble, now," he looked at his watch, "I've got to get going."

"Bye," Ed muttered, scowling to himself as the others said their good-byes.

"There's nothing you could have done anyway, sir," Brosh reminded him, "A train from Central to Risembool takes almost all day so there's no way you could get there in time."

Edward glared at him, but before he could say anything, Al cut in, "He's right, brother. There's no way we would make it in time even if the colonel had let us try."

"But..." Ed trailed off, lost in his thoughts. He clenched his hands into fists, concluding that they had been right. There was no way they would make it in time.

"Um, sir?" Ross started, hesitantly, "I have news for you and your brother."

"What is it?" he said tightly.

"Sheska told me to tell you that the notes were done, and she was ready for you to pick them up."

"Let's go!" the brothers said in unition, the bomb temporarily forgotten.

* * *

><p>The light of alchemy flooded the metal prison that Myne had been left in. She immediately backed herself into the corner, knowing it would be the best place to fight if she were threatened. The giant sillhouette of Omart appeared in the gaping, door-shaped hole in the wall. She took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from quivering like a scared rabbit and failing miserably.<p>

Then she noticed that he seemed to be slightly deformed, as if something was protruding from his neck... A small shadow stepped out from behind him, seeming to be even shorter than she was.

"Now, I'm not going to kill you, but I can't have you following us either so..." she heard a familiar voice say and the object, she now realized to be a knife, was removed from it's position at the base of his throat; the butt came down straight on the top of his head, knocking him unconscious.

"Keari!" she squeaked, still a bit shaken. She got to her feet and walked unsteadily over to where the other girl stood in the doorway.

"Quiet, Myne. We don't want to get caught." Keari faced the younger girl, "Follow me." She turned and abruptly fell flat on her face. "Ow..." she muttered, standing.

Myne smiled to herself as she followed her, lantern illuminating the ground in front of them. This was going to be a very interesting night.

* * *

><p>"Good, you got her," Dr. Mirane sighed in relief, "I trust you weren't seen?"<p>

"No, at least, not that I'm aware of," Keari replied, heaving one of the packs over her shoulder. "I also made sure that Omart was out of commition for a while." She felt a bit guilty for doing it, but there was no way to avoid it.

"Wow, you took _him_ down?" Ian asked, raising his eyebrows at her. He sounded impressed.

She blushed a deep red, "I could only do it because you guys gave me the knife. The healer in our village used to say that alchemy wasn't the science of making something out of nothing but making something better out of the least amount of material possible." Keari smiled fondly at the memory.

"It doesn't change the fact that I'm impressed."

"Whatever." She blushed darker.

"As much as I'd love to hear you to flirt, I would appreciate it if you would let me borrow a weapon," Myne drawled with a smirk.

"Don't be silly, Myne," Ian grinned, not even the slightest bit angry. "I can tell that Keari doesn't think anything like that," he said at the same time Keari shouted, "I'M NOT! I don't like him like that, and I'm sure he doesn't like me like that either! I mean, we barely know eachother. Just shut up! Heh, please?"

She gave a nervous laugh, realizing that everyone was staring at her. "What?" She walked over to one of the packs, tripping over a small tree stump. "Oh, come _on_!" she exclaimed in irritation, "Twice in one night?"

Ian rolled his eyes, but Myne raised her eyebrows sarcastically and muttered, "Clueless..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. Besides-"

"It's almost time," Dr Mirane interrupted, walking over to them. "Here." He handed Myne what appeared to be a set of small, light-weight, daggers. _Where is he even getting all these weapons?_

"Oh! Thanks so much!" Myne beamed at him, dark eyes shining in the lamp light.

"It's no trouble," the doctor gestured at a small table behind the tent, "Come over here; I need to show you something."

"All right," Keari agreed, glad he had changed the subject. When they reached the table, Keari set the lamp down on the table, registering that there was a map of Amestris laying on it.

"What now, Dad?" Ian asked, Myne trailing behind him.

"I need to show you where to go. First, go directly north from here," he traced his finger along the map in the direction he wanted them to go. "Next, you'll meet up with a soldier from Central in this town. He'll tell you the rest."

"Youswell?" Myne asked, brows furrowed.

"Yes, it's a coal mining town. It's one of the safest places we could think to put you."

"You think it'll work?" Ian asked.

"Yes, just be careful, alright?" Mirane replied.

"Dad..."

"Just don't take any stupid risks."

"I promise."

Dr. Mirane checked his watch again, "It's time."

"You mean..." Keari trailed off.

"Yes. The bomb will go off in ten minutes." He smiled slightly, "Now's when you run."

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><p><strong>Well, that's where I ended it because it was getting a bit long, wasn't it? I figured you wouldn't want to read a three thousand word chapter...<strong>

**Anyway, THANKS SO MUCH to the people who have participated in the oneshot contest. You know the rules posted in the last chapter) so PLEASE JOIN THE ONESHOT CONTEST! PLEEEEEEEEEASE!**

**Anywho, if you have QUESTIONS, ASK VIA REVIEW/PM! Review! **


	12. Dark Decent

**Phew, well, this one was really fun to write! I think it's pretty good, but who knows? XD Hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>They left the camp discreetly, covered by night's shadows. No one knew of their departure except for the doctor. Myne seemed satisfied stroking her knives as they walked although the way she seemed to enjoy it creeped Keari out. Ian walked in silence, seeming lost in thought. <em>He's probably worried about the doctor<em>, Keari thought sadly. _I hope he gets out okay...But, I doubt he will._

She grinned to herself. _My family always told me that I was a pessimist; I guess they're right._ The grin slid from her face when Ian looked back at her, hurt flashing through his eyes. _I probably seem cruel, smiling when all these people are about to die. Maybe I am cruel, but that's a fact of life._

"Ian, I-" she started, but he shook his head and kept walking, turning away from her.

She knew he was right to tell her to be quiet; they hadn't left the camp yet, but she bit her lip in frustration. The trees were annoying Keari. The sound of their leaves rustling did help cover the sound of their escape, but at the same time, the shadows they cast kept making her jump.

The wind was picking up, she noted, wishing she could shave her head as it blew strands of hair into her eyes. _That's not distracting at all_, she thought sarcastically. _Boys are so lucky._ She wondered why Ed had decided to grow his so long, knowing, had it been her, it would have been gone within a day.

"Keari," Myne whispered under her breath, matching her pace. "We're being followed."

"What?" she hissed, hairs on the back of her neck standing up. Myne jerked her petite chin to their left.

Sure enough, the figure of a person walking silently through the woods became clear to Keari. _How could I have missed that?_ she asked herself in frustration. _Honestly!_

"What should we do?" Myne asked so quietly it was almost inaudible.

"When I say-" she started, but Ian, shocking both girls, darted over to the person and jumped _onto its back_. "Damn," she muttered, both she and Myne racing over to aid their companion. _What is he thinking? That's so wreckless!_ _Well, I was thinking of doing the same thing, but still! _she amended with a grimace.

The glint of a metal in the light filtering in between the branches alerted her to the fact that the person had a knife. Damn," she said again, expressively. There was a dull thunk as the knife fell from its hand, blood gushing from a wound at the wrist. She glanced over at Myne to see her hand still outstretched from where she threw one of her little knives.

_Come on, Keari, _she chided herself_, Are you completely useless?_ _Apparently._ The person, she now saw to be wrapped in a long, floor-length, traveling cloak. The person was thrashing around wildly, attempting to throw Ian off, but he clung there like the world would end if he let go. _They're...They're completely distracted!_

Seeing that this was her chance, she darted at the them, grabbing onto a fold of the cloak, and... was thrown into a tree. She gasped for air, seeing stars. _Dammit!_ she thought, _you were distracted_! She staggered to her feet just in time to see Myne duck under the person's legs, throwing them off balance by pulling on the cloak as she'd intended to do. _Today just isn't my day_, she thought, still panting. They, Ian and the attacker, crashed to the ground in a heap.

Keari walked over to them, drawing her knife. Ian heaved himself up, Keari crouching down to hold the knife to her throat. "Who are you?" she asked, frustration coloring her tone. She had done absolutely NOTHING!

"Lorra..." the person, now known to be a woman, answered in a slightly shaky voice.

"Why are you following us?"

"I'm not following you," she answered, disgust in her tone, "I just don't want to be blown up."

"You mean, you're just running because you know about the bomb?" Myne asked, coming to stand beside them.

"Damn right," she said, meeting each of their eyes, "Can I get up now? I wasn't spying on you or anything like that."

"Why should we trust you?" Keari asked, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"First of all, because I've never liked it here. I only stayed because I had no where else to go. Second, what would I gain? The whole camp is going to be blown to smithereens in a few minutes so it's not like I would gain anything from going back to report to dead people. Honestly, what motives would I have?"

"She has a point," Ian said, holding his hands up in surrender when Keari glared at him. "What? She does."

"Fine." She stood, stepping out of the Lorra's way.

Lorra stood stiffly, rubbing the sore spot where she had fallen. "Owww... That hurt, you know?"

"Heh, sorry," Myne rubbed the back of her neck in embarassment.

"We'd better get moving if we don't want to get our eardrums blown out," Lorra said, looking at Keari for approval.

_We? _she thought, but said, "Yeah, come on."

"By the way, the back of your shirt is all dusty," she shrugged, "I thought you'd like to know."

"It's probably because someone threw me into a tree," Keari hissed venomously. Something about that girl got on her nerves.

"Sheesh, girl, get a better attitude. You're starting to piss me off," Lorra pushed her brown bangs out of her eyes and started walking again.

"I love this girl!" Myne said, walking faithfully behind her.

Ian grinned at her antics, but said nothing, following Myne.

"Hmph," Keari muttered. _This girl is seriously irritating, but why?_ she wondered. _Maybe,_ a small negative voice said, _it's because you thought you were leading Myne and Ian, but now, they're following her._

_Shut up, _she told it mentally, _I never thought I was leading anybody._ Then, she walked slowly after them, feeling angry and confused with no one to blame but herself.

After they'd walked for a while in silence, Keari matched Lorra's pace, feeling the need to appologize, "Hey, um, I think we got off on the wrong foot back there. Sorry. I'm Keari, by the way." She looked at ground ahead of them, Ian and Myne walking farther behind.

"I know who you are," Lorra replied, braiding a lock of her brown hair subconsciously, "I mean, the whole camp was talking about you. 'The Snow Ishvalan,' they called you. In my oppinion, it sounds stupid, but they obviously don't agree with me."

She wrinkled her nose, "I don't like it either. It sounds like a state alchemist title wannabe."

That startled a laugh out of Lorra, "You're all right, Keari. I mean, you're kinda stuck up and negative, but whatever."

Keari furrowed her brows, unsure whether to thank her or insult her; Lorra laughed harder.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion after that.

A long, thin knife flew from behind them, hitting Lorra squarely in the back of the neck.

Keari stood frozen.

Her laughter cut off with a gurgle of blood coming from her mouth as she keeled over.

Then, time seemed to catch up with them, and Keari could move again.

She dropped to her knees beside Lorra, not caring about the blood staining her clothes. "Lorra!" she screamed, knowing that there was no way to save her. The knife had pierced her jugular, and there was only a matter of minutes before the darkness would claim her. "No. No!" she shrieked, voice cracking. She turned, furiously to see who had thrown the knife.

Myne lay on the ground, not moving. Hopefully, she was just unconscious. Ian was a different story. He was locked in combat with a lean, cat-like build and dark brown hair like Lorra's. She recognized her as the woman who had tried to torture information out of her, with Flen.

"Ian, be careful!" she shouted, but she wasn't sure he'd even heard her.

They were locked in a dance, a deadly dance where one false move meant death. The woman would feint in, and Ian would lunge and dodge. Both, she could tell were extremely skilled, but Ian was obviously outmatched. His moves were less coordinated, and there was a moment where his lunge was too slow that left him completely open. The woman used that moment. But so did Keari.

Just as the woman was getting ready to deliver the killing blow, Keari launched herself inbetween Ian and the woman, grabbing her wrist to stop the knife. But, the woman wouldn't be beaten that easily. She threw herself at Keari with everything she had. Ducking and stabbing, as Keari dodged and flipped. She couldn't let her guard down long enough to draw her knife, and that was trouble.

"What's the matter?" the woman jeered, "You getting tired, girl?" She lunged yet again.

Keari dodged the blow by flipping backwards, landing unsteadily on her feet as the woman attacked again and again.

"My dear little sister didn't do too well, did she?" the woman laughed, "Thank you for distracting her for me."

She glared at her, still dodging rapidly, but starting to slow down because of exhaustion.

"What? Was she a friend of yours? Don't worry, you'll get to be with her soon." With that, she lunged in for the kill, straight at Keari's chest.

But she didn't get that far.

Keari had, mimicking her exact tactics, managed to draw her own knife and throw it, straight at the woman's throat. The woman's eyes widened when the knife pierced her jugular, as if surprised that she had been able to kill her, then she dropped like a rock, blood trickling down her neck.

Keari collapsed to her knees, exhaustion taking hold of her. The last thing she was aware of before the bliss of unconsciousness to her was being carried. They didn't smell of spices or rain, and she found herself disappointed. Here eyes slipped shut just after she noticed a large cloud of smoke rising a few miles away. Then, all she saw was darkness.

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><p><strong>Jeesh, does she have a thing for passing out? It seems like she does it every other chapter! Well, hopefully she's not too cliched andor Mary-Sue in this chapter. The next chapter will be pretty funny and (maybe) you'll be introduced to the last perminant OC. Seriously, I do have a lot of OC's but it will get more central to the plot of FMA soon...**


	13. Nightmare of Uninvited Guests

**As someone on FFN I know would say, here I am reporting from the land of writer's block. That's why there was such a long wait on this chapter. So sorry... :-/ I wasn't TRYING to get writer's block... Enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>"Honestly, how long has she been out?" The words filtered through Keari's haze of unconsciousness, penetrating her head and bouncing around painfully.<p>

"About an hour? I'm not really sure." She could tell from the sound of his voice that this was Ian

"She wasn't hurt so why would she be unconscious?" Myne asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry Myne, she's waking up, now. I can tell."

"Okay..." Myne muttered dubiously. She paused before asking, "Do you think that was the first person she's killed?"

"I would guess, but I don't know her well enough to really say. She looked horrified at what she'd done, right as she passed out. Honestly, I would bet all the cens I have that she hasn't killed anyone before this."

"I hope she wakes up soon."

"So do I."

_That does it! I have to wake up!_ Keari commanded herself, wishing it was just that easy. Her eyelids felt as if they had been sealed shut, but she managed to pry them open by sheer force of will, blinking blearily up at them.

Myne was perched at the end of the bed she was on, Ian standing on her other side.

"Thank God your're awake, Keari," Myne said, a corner of her mouth turning up in an uncertain smile. "You _have_ to save us from the girl who owns the house we're staying it! She's a nightmare." She shuddered delicately for effect.

"She's not _that_ bad," Ian said trailing off when Myne raised her eyebrows at him.

"You're scaring me. She can't be as bad as you say she is. You don't even know her," Keari ran a hand through her tangled hair, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. There was a muffled clang as her automail hit the floor when she stood up, taking in her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed about the room was that it was _very pink_. The walls were a rosie pink color, matching the lamp shade and the bedspread. The end tables were decorated with light pink, lacy doilies and the window above the bed was covered by a dark pink curtain. Keari had never liked pink. Ever.

"You don't know the half of i-" Myne was cut off by the door flying open, crashing agains the wall with a bang.

A girl, seeming to be a slightly older than they were, entered the room. She had light brown hair trailing down her back and grey eyes; her nose was thin with a smattering of freckles. She was also a good two inches taller than Keari, with long legs clothed in a mid-calf length blue dress. And, she was talking. At light speed.

"Yay! You're finally awake! Do you know how long I've been waiting for that to happen, honestly, couldn't you have woken up sooner? You made me wait, and I hate waiting so I tried to wake you up myself by pouring water on you, and I even tried slapping you! Sheesh, you were out cold-" she gasped and started talking again- "Anyway! My name's Evie! You're name's Keari! You're friends told me your name so-wait. You're all dirty! Come on! Let's get you some new clothes!" Evie squealed. She latched onto a very stunned Keari and dragged her out the door.

Myne smirked. "She's so dead."

* * *

><p>Keari stared in undisguised horror at Evie who was smiling brightly, holding a bright pink dress complete with ribbon.<p>

"No," she choked out.

"Yes!" Evie waved the dress exentricly.

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"YES!"

"No."

"Oh, come _on_," she flipped a lock of wavy brown hair over her shoulder, "Honestly. Do you want to look good for your boyfriend or not?"

Keari's eyes got so wide she thought they would fall out of her head. "What _boyfriend_?"

"That cute dark haired boy-what was his name again, oh yes- Ian."

"Oh! Nononono-Ian's not-I mean, we're not _together_. I mean, we're traveling together, but we're not _together together."_

"You're not?" Evie put a finger on her bottom lip in consideration before beaming when she apparently reached a conclusion, "Yay! Then he's open! He's fair game! Thanks for telling me that, Keari!"

"W-what?" Keari sputtered.

"Oh, come on. You must have holes for eyes if you haven't noticed how absolutely _HOT_ Ian is!"

_"What?_" Keari repeated. Before she met Evie, she hadn't realized just how wide her eyes could get. _Was Ian hot, as she'd said? Well, sure, he's pretty handsome, now that I think about it, but I don't have any other feelings for him._

Noticing her state of comprehension, Evie's eyebrows reached her hairline, "You mean you honestly haven't noticed?"

"No..."

She shook her head, "Isn't there one boy you've thought was handsome? Like, right as soon as you met him?"

Keari bit her lip, a light blush coloring her cheeks, "Only one."

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><p>"So you're leaving for Youswell and from there, to Central?" Evie asked once she had deemed Keari presentable. They had managed to comprimise on her wardrobe. Now, dressed in a knee length blue skirt and a white long-sleeved shirt, Keari felt slightly uncomfortable. The last time Keari had been dressed in a skirt of any form was when Rehara had forced her into one at their sibling's funerals. Not to mention, fighting in a skirt offered a distinct disadvantage.<p>

"Yeah," she pushed a particularly stubborn piece of hair out of her eyes that had managed to evade Evie and her menacing hair pins that had claimed the rest of her hair. For once, most of her hair was not hanging agrivatingly in her eyes.

"Great! I've been meaning to go to Central since I was, like, five. I'll go with you!"

"No."

"Glad you agree! Come on, help me pack!" She caught Keari's elbow, attempting to drag her out of the room, but she jerked her back, refusing to budge.

"I said no," Keari said, teeth gritted in irritation.

"Psht, but why shouldn't I come? I've been told my presence brightens a room. I would think it would count doubly in a group as serious as your friends," Evie put her hands on her hips and shook her head sadly, "They're nice, but they really need to chillax. Too much stress is bad for your skin." With that, she turned on her heel and marched from the room, saying cheerfully over her shoulder, "I'll meet you at the front door in fifteen with my bag!"

Keari, still in a state of shock and fury, remained in the room for solid ten minutes before walking slowly out of the room. _I think I agree with Myne,_ she thought, _she is a nightmare._

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><p>Shockingly enough, when Evie met Ian, Myne, and her at the front door, her suitcase wasn't nearly as big as Keari had expected it to be.<p>

"I can't believe you let her come with us," Myne hissed under her breath, scowling reproachfully.

_It's not like I had much choice_, Keari thought, but said instead, "I literally couldn't disuade her."

Ian, she noticed, was eerily silent throughout their exchange.

"How efficient! You're all ready! Come on! I wanna go to Central as soon as possible!" Evie squealed, eyes sparkling with all-consuming excitement.

Myne paled considerably.

Keari sighed, lifting hand up to run it through her hair, but was reminded that it was pinned up so that would most assuredly ruin it by Evie's choking glare. She let her hand fall limply back to her side, sighed, and said, "Yeah, let's go."

"YAY!" Evie practically danced out the door into the bright sunlight of what Keari assumed was main street. There was a store with a dusty, unreadable sign hanging out front, a building that served as the post office, a resturant, and a few other houses.

Seeing the resturant seemed to remind Keari, and her stomach, that she hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours. She matched Ian's pace, saying casually, "You know-"

"We're stopping at the resturant, aren't we?" he asked, meeting her gaze. He laughed at her startled expression. "It wasn't that hard to tell. You looked like you wanted to eat the building when you saw that there was a resturant."

She grinned; this was the first thing all day that had gone right.

* * *

><p><em>That was too easy<em>, the homunculus thought with a smirk. _Humans._ _They're lives are a fragile as candle flames; I love snuffing them out, seeing the surprise on their sheep-like faces. Although, the human who ran that thing had **some** sense, using other humans to do the dirty work._

He laughed bitterly, purple eyes flashing with mirth._ He had managed to find out about our plans, or the 'military's' plans. That was easy to take care of, and it gave Gluttony something to do besides following Lust around like a dog. Making sure no one left the camp was too easy. Actually, making sure only one person left the camp safely was too easy._

_She and her little posse had to get out safely. She was a sacrifice, after all. Posing as their leader was too easy, giving them the order to not leave the camp._

_Stupid, humans._

_Speaking of their leader, I'd better take off that costume_, red light flashed around him as he shed the form, replacing it with his own.

_Things are all going according to plan_.

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><p><strong>Wow. Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Anyway, I have an announcement about the oneshot contest. I have gotten four entries for it so far so IF YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE ONESHOT CONTEST, TELL ME THE NAME OF YOUR ONESHOT VIA REVIEW OF THIS CHAPTER!<strong>

**Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! I like Evie, in case you don't know, so hopefully she'll provide the comedy relief she's meant for. Don't stress, she's the last major OC! Hopefully, we're going to get more into the the plot of FMA after this!**

**Review, if you don't mind. I'd appreciate it! Thanks! XD**


	14. Oneshot Winner and Technical Issues

**I have returned! Sooooooooooooooo sorry for the wait! XP I had some crap going on with my computer.**

**Now, what you've aaaaaall been waiting for...**

**The winner of my oneshot contest...**

**Iiiiiiis...**

**NAYRU ELRIC!**

**With her oneshot, "Her Ruby Eyes!"**

**Now, because she sent this to me by PM, I have it as this chapter. Sorry, if you wanted to have an actual chapter for this one, but remember, I had some crap going on with my computer this week.**

**Now, as some of you might know, including you, Nayru, she and I are friends. (At least over the internet...) Anyway, I haven't chosen this oneshot as the winner just because she's my friend. I chose this oneshot because...**

**1. She used MY OC's. It's harder than you might think to write an OC that you didn't make up. Harder than writing a canon character that you've seen for 64 episodes...**

**2. The quality of the writing is VERY good! She uses different adjectives, describes everything the way I pictured it to a T! XD**

**3. The information was TOTALLY acurate! This is a representation of Keari and Rehara's human transmutation.**

**Remember, Nayru doesn't own FMA or FMAB or anything related to it. Neither do I. This was completely written by Nayru, all I did was give her the concept, okay?**

**ENJOY!**

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><p><span>Her Ruby Eyes<span>

The air was stale, desolate boxes strew. The two sisters were ready. Keari and Rehara laid their supplies in the middle of a carefully drawn circle, rousing dust, rattling cinders. Prepared to do the thing they'd so diligently committed to do.

Whatever happened, they would be together in the end. They would have their siblings back and they would be a happy family. Even if they did fail, the sisters would pursue until they succeeded. Keari and Rehara would not stop until they had Shany and Bren with them again. There didn't seem to be a doubt about that.

"You…you ready?" Rehara nodded, and Keari smiled. The sincere and determined look Rehara gave reassured Keari—this was the right thing. She had to do this. For Rehara. For those beautiful eyes of ruby, that had been tainted by the passing years. Dulled, grown faint from waiting. Keari couldn't let her little sister deal with that bane, not after all she'd already been through. Keari had to pick her up again, just as she'd done herself, many times in her life.

"All right," Keari said softly. "Let's do it." The two sisters crouched, pressing grimy hands to the circle. Before complying with the progression, Keari recounted everything in her head: Water, carbon, ammonia, lime, phosphorous, salt, saltpeter, sulfur, fluorine, iron, silicon…was there anything they were missing? Something they needed? They were forgetting to do? No. They didn't need anything.

They had not miscounted one thing. They were ready. Ready as they'd ever be, and it was time.

Keari glanced at her sister. Tears lay on the lids of Rehara's closed eyes. She wanted this, more than anything. She needed it. Needed to feel the embrace of her siblings again, needed to feel like she was safe in the arms of someone stronger. So Keari focused her mind, drawing all the attention she could give to the circle.

It was time. The sisters tightened their minds, clasping their hands on the painted runes. Staring into their minds' eye, a whooshing erupted through the warehouse, disturbing the air. Blue light dazzled the walls, overtaking the darkness, filling it with life. It glowed wondrously for a moment, complete of coherence and zestful. Keari stared deep in the blue light that mirrored her eyes. Was this it? Was this what it was like? To see…?

Without any warning purple smoke replaced the blue light, lining the edges of the runes, swirling in front of Rehara and Keari. The air around them vacuumed toward the center of the circle, and then suddenly pushed back. Keari's light silvery eyes turned gray cold as a pop rung in her ears. Rehara had her eyes open, now. Her eyes roved frantically over the scene, searching for something to defy her thoughts.

"What's happening?" she asked Keari, throat clogged. Keari could only give her sister a mangled look. Rehara's realization turned to panic. Her shiny eyes widened, tears slipping out onto her face. A sonorous swoosh deafened them, and an eye appeared in the middle of the circle, swallowing their supplies.

Black arms, bearing tiny black hands, rose from the smoke. Before Keari could register what was happening, Rehara screamed. Keari's stomach churned as Rehara screamed again. She was screaming something. A name—Keari's name. Her face drenched in tears, eyes made of fear, Rehara didn't even have eyes for her sister as the black hands took hold of her.

She clawed at anything she could grab, decomposing before Keari's eyes. And Keari just sat there, watching without one move. This had to be a dream. Keari felt a pang in her back, returning her to the present. She gasped; falling on her chin against the stone ground. Groping her back, Keari felt a serrated something. She tried to wrench the thing away, but as she pulled, it cut her hand.

"KEARI!" Rehara shrieked. Startled, Keari ceased her gaze from her lacerated palm, struggling to get on her knees. More hands rushed forward, but Keari pushed them back. She outstretched her bloody hand to Rehara, catching an arm. "I'm not letting go," she assured herself. "I won't lose you."

Rehara's fixated red eyes told her otherwise.

~o-O-o~

Everything was white. No wind stirred her hair. No life form stalked the horizon. Keari was alone. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud. She hadn't expected to get an answer.

"Hello." The voice that replied seemed mangled and distorted. Twisted and contorted until indistinguishable. And that was its purpose. Keari strained not to let the shock appear as she skimmed the white purgatory for a figure.

"W-where are you?" she asked hurriedly, not sure what 'you' was. Her eyes rested on a blot of black. "Y-you?" Legs crossed, the thing looked eerily identical to Keari. It was exactly the same shape and size, lacking a face, clothes, or skin. But was completely white, like the rest of the realm. Its neck stretched high, eager to see the trespasser—Keari.

"Well, what do we have here? A haughty young alchemist, not only asking for one person returned from the dead, but two." Keari watched this creature, inimical. Someone—or rather, something—bearing her same looks and exact features, mocking her when speaking of human transmutation…something was off. "I knew today would be a good day," it said thoughtfully, almost sighing.

Keari found her voice. "W-who are you?"

The thing chuckled. "Who am I? How many people seem to ask that first…?" He paused. "I am God." Keari's mouth remained ajar. She didn't know how to reply. "And I, Truth, am delighted to make your acquaintance, Keari Miron." His expressionless face turned grave. "But I'm sorry to say that your stay here at the Gate won't be a long one."

A rush of wind pushed through Keari's hair as a creak filled the emptiness. She didn't look at Truth or the door. She stared into the white ground, trying to make sense of this hell. "You see, I don't take kindly to alchemists trying to take over my job. So I give them what they want and let them be on their way." His face lowered as he spoke softer.

"You do want to see it, don't you?" he whispered, barely audible for Keari's ears. "You want to know the Truth?" She looked slowly up at Truth, imploring eyes, asking him to spare her of his tricks. He did no such thing. "I can show you," he continued, softer still. "All you have to do is give me something of equal value in exchange." The eye behind her spread open, but

Keari gulped.

"No," she started, voice faltering. She cleared her throat and tried again. "No," she repeated, the hands crawling faster up her shirt, "I don't want to see it. Leave your tricks to some other idiot, not me. I won't be a pawn in your game."

At this, Truth didn't stare, he smiled. That smile gleamed off the whiteness around, and into Keari's mind, piercing a hole where it would forever stay. "I'm sorry to say you don't have a choice," he said, coolly. "Because you see, if you don't want to go, I'll put your sister in instead." He moved out of the way, to show Rehara standing near a Gate behind. Rehara stared at Keari with the same fearful look she'd disappeared in the warehouse with. Ruby eyes melting in terror.

Keari froze. "You…you…you're just making that up, a-aren't you?" she stuttered. "That isn't my sister. It can't be."

Truth kept smiling. "Oh, but it is. And you just sold her out." The black hands holding Keari's light lilac shirt retracted, and instead Rehara's Gate creaked, doors opening.

"No! You can't do that!" Keari screamed, both desperate and enraged; but there was nothing she could do to stop Truth. "SISTER!" Rehara made a blind dash towards Keari, not even gaining two steps as she was yanked to her door.

"PLEASE! PLEASE STOP!" Keari screamed, trying to step forward. A hand clinging at her ankle, digging its fingers deep into her skin. Keari's voice cracked as she cried, "I'LL DO IT! I WILL GO THROUGH THE PORTAL! LET MY SISTER GO!"

Truth was fazed, but for only one fraction of a moment. The hands holding Rehara freed her, drawing back into their home.

The same hands came forth from Keari's door, seizing her, but she did nothing to try and stop them, letting herself be taken.

"No, Keari!" Rehara yelled.

"I'm all right, Rehara," she said as steady as she could. "We'll be fine. I promise."

The door shut in her face.

A mass amount of feelings lodged themselves into Keari's brain, all at once. Thousands of images, actions, information, knowledge, everything. All of it flashed before her eyes, faster than she could comprehend. And she could not stop her mangled screaming or the pain within her skull.

"This…this isn't fair! Stop! Please! Someone! Anyone! Please make it stop! I can't…I can't take much more…!"

She scrunched her eyes shut, attempting to lock the information out, but that only made it worse.

"This has to be a dream. It's just got to be a dream," she yelled at the images scraping her head. "There's no way this could be—" Her eyes snapped back open.

"Bren…? Shany?"

Their figures danced in the light, taunting her brain as they smiled, reaching for her. She reached too, tears stabbing her eyes, blurring this hell and all of the horrible information it held.

"Please," she squealed, reaching farther still. Their perfect figures vanished in the helix of information. "Please let me feel them again…" Her tears ran.

~o-O-o~

Truth's grinning smile replaced Bren and Shany. Keari shook her head, searching for Rehara behind him. She was nowhere to be seen.

"How was it?" Truth inquired, jubilant as always.

"Where's my sister?" Keari shouted. Her voice echoed around Truth, back to her.

"I'm sorry, but she already had her turn."

Keari glared at Truth, not testing her ears. "What?"

"She already went through the Gate before you'd even gotten here." Truth smirked. "Equivalent exchange."

"But…but you said you wouldn't make her go through! You said you wouldn't—"

"The words never came out of my mouth," Truth said, cutting her off. "And now it seems you must pay up for your price as she did hers." His head averted down, and Keari followed. Her legs broke to tiny pieces, sending her, useless, on the ground. The last thing she heard was Truth's laugh, cackling into her ears as her head throbbed. _Rehara, no…_

"REHARA!" Keari yelped as the warehouse came into view.

She choked, sobbing while clutching the bloody stubs that were her legs. How could any of this happen? How could she have let this happen? She was alive, but that meant nothing, except for the fact Rehara could be too. Keari lifted her head, trying to see past her tears as a body came into view. She immediately realized it was not Rehara's. Its eyes were dead silver. Blood and green fluids rolled toward her from its exposed organs, and she turned her face away before seeing more.

Keari retched anyway, eyes falling on her sister's body. Her white shirt now stained with red blood. Keari crawled forward, uncaring to her own condition. Rehara coughed, spraying blood everywhere. But there was still life. Frantic, Keari clapped her scarlet hands, pressing them to her sister's body. A purple transmutation danced as she gazed into her sister's petrified, graying eyes.

"I won't let you die," she breathed, loud and determined. "I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it…"  
>The light faded and Keari was left alone in darkness.<p>

~o-O-o~

Rehara opened her ruby eyes to the darkness of the Gate. Prepared for the black hands she assumed would rush out and take hold of her at any moment, she felt no fear. But Rehara realized she was unclothed, and the eye of Truth did not appear. She cocked her head. What was this darkness she saw, eternal and peaceful?  
>A light shone in the still darkness. Four figures stood inside, smiling.<p>

_Mom? Dad? Bren? Shany?_

The four of them outstretched their hands to her, but she did not take any.

_Where's Keari?_ Rehara glanced back, seeing Keari in the black too. But instead of surrounded by light, many black hands held her in place—eyes shut tight. She seemed pained, not seeing her sister. Rehara rushed into the Gate, to Keari, but a hand rested on her shoulder, pulling her back. The naked figure of her mother shook her head no as the black baby's hand floundered. Mother smiled, opening her arms to Rehara. She gave Keari one last, long stare. Rehara couldn't stay with her. She couldn't go back with Keari, though that was what she wanted. Rehara bowed her head.

"Thank you, sister. But it's okay. I'm all right now."

Rehara turned, and followed Mother into the light. Before the Gateway to Heaven closed, Keari's eyes shot open, and flashing to the light and to Rehara's face. She looked happy. Happier than she'd been in years, and glad.

Keari's chapped lips posed to shout out, struggling with the hands holding her in the abyss, but Rehara's face told her not to. As the Gateway shut completely, Keari saw the look in those eyes. Those ruby eyes told her everything, and she knew what they asked. Rehara wanted Keari to stay. The cripple girl rubbed her face with her remaining arm, crying happiness, sorrow, regret, and gladness, even as all the information of the universe poured into her brain…

~o-O-o~

Keari awoke again in Madam Marita's house, in a patient's bed and IV in her arm. Before she could stop herself, she cried. However, this was a cry of sadness. She wished to see Rehara again. Her smooth walk, her perfect stance…above all, Keari wanted to see her eyes. Her ruby eyes that told her so much, without saying one word…  
>If only Keari could find someone like that again; maybe she wouldn't feel so alone in this world? But that would have to be some person.<p>

Keari was sure she would never find that person in her life, all the years that she lived.

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><p><strong>What'd you guys think? I thought it was pretty freaking awesome, actually. Anyway, I'd like to thank all the other people who participated in the oneshot contest...<strong>

**DoctorWhoAndTheOlympians with "All's Fair."**

**DaisyForTheLoved with "A Suitcase Life."**

**dancingpaperdolls with "Breathing Dead."**

**YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!**

**Seriously, thanks for putting up with me this far!**

**With any luck, I'll have another chapter up in a few days.**

**Feel free to review this chapter! I'll be sending all the reviews to Nayru so if you get a reply from her, don't freak out.**

**Thanks!**


	15. Pocketwatches and Trains

**Well, here's the actual chapter. Sorry for the wait. XP Well, it's here now so enjoy! :D**

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><p>"Still haven't cracked that code yet, eh?" Brosh asked, raising his brows at the brothers. Ed narrowed his eyes at him.<p>

"We're close," he muttered, fighting a yawn.

"Yeah," Al chimed in, "I can almost feel it."

"Okay, okay," Ross said, coming to stand beside him, "Just try to take a break soon, okay? You've been at it for hours."

"Whatever," Ed said, pushing his bangs out of his face, "We have to get back to work."

She sighed, seeing that he wasn't going to budge. "Come on, Brosh."

Together, their appointed body guards left the library.

"Let's start up again, Al," he said, brandishing the pen in his automail hand.

"Okay, brother," Alphonse said, getting back to work.

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><p>"Omigod! I can't believe I'm <em>actually<em> going to Central! You guys are a-ma-zing! I've heard so much about the cu-ute Central boys! My mother warned me about them, but I think I'm up for the challenge," Evie finished resolutely.

"Will. You. Please. Shut. Up!" Myne exploded, throwing her hands up in exasperation. She looked as if she wanted to kill the other girl.

"Jeez, just chill, will ya?" Evie said with a dismissive wave of her hand.  
>"No! I won't just chill!" Myne turned and jabbed a finger at her. "You have been going on and on and on about Central like this is some kind of PLEASURE cruise!"<p>

"It's not everyday that a girl gets to go to Central," she replied with a smile, still not swayed.

"Maybe it is for you, but for us, it's a matter of life and death! My entire clan is at stake, Ian's dad gave up his life to protect him, and Keari has no family left to turn to! So if you want think this is meant to be a luxurious visit to Central, you're wrong!"

"Myne," Keari sighed wearily, bangs falling into her face. "That's enough." _She's right, though, _she thought to herself.

They both ignored her.

"How would you know?" Evie exclaimed, starting to get annoyed. "You barely know me! How would you know my motives for going to Central?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you keep gushing about how awesome it is that you're going to Central," Myne said sarcastically.

"I've always wanted to go to Central because I have nothing left for me back home! Central is a new life."

_She's...serious? I didn't know that Evie could possibly say ANYTHING that was meaningful._

Keari shook her head as if she were trying to make sense of the situation, "Myne, leave her alone. She apparently has some reason that's just as important to her as our's are to us for coming to Central."

"Whatever," Myne looked faintly confused, but decided it would be best to quit while she was ahead.

Evie, although it could have been Keari's imagination, shot her a grateful look.

"How long have we been walking?" Ian asked, from her left.

"Since morning. It's almost dust, now."

"I wish we had a w-"

"It's 6:47," Evie chimed in, something metal glinting in her hand.

"How'd you know," Ian asked with surprise.

She lifted up her hand, splaying her fingers so they could see the metal thing Keari had noticed earlier. It was a silver pocket watch, smaller than the state alchemist pocketwatch and obviously very worn. The once smooth metal surface, etched with intricate patterns of flowers, was now marred with small scratches. There was a chain attached to the top of it that was designed to go around the owner's neck.

Keari let out a small sigh of appreciation, itching to touch it, but held herself back. It was obviously, despite it's blemishes, very valuable.

"It was my mother's," Evie breathed. "She gave it to me before she left. Both of my parents did."

"So...that's what you meant when you said you had no life left for you?" Myne asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"Sorry, I was being a jerk," Myne appologized.

"I accept; you were being a jerk," Evie said, slipping the pocketwatch back around her neck.

_Dammit, Evie! Why can't you just keep Myne from killing you? That's all I ask._ But, to Keari's surprise, Myne burst out laughing.

"That-" she gasped, "-was well played."

They grinned at eachother.

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><p>"Father," Envy said, "I haved news."<p>

"Speak, my son," came the voice he knew so well.

"The anti-military group, what's-its-name, is gone. The plan went perfectly."

"Wonderful. And the girl?"

"She's alive. She's going to arrive in Central within the next few days. Pathetic human, plowing right into our trap." He smirked, "I suppose it's a good thing they're such fools. It makes it much easier to put our plan into action."

"Yes, Envy," his Father smiled mirthlessly, "It's almost as if they want us to succeed."

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><p>The next day went by in a blur. Keari and the others met the soldier known as Breda in Youswell, as promised. He had redish blond hair and was of a slightly stocky build. Youswell, a small mining town, was just as safe as they had been told. They left for Central almost immediately after arriving, hoping to get there by the next morning.<p>

When they were seated on the train, Evie asked, "So, it's really that important that you get to Central, huh?"

"Yeah," Keari answered, rubbing absently at the stump of her shoulder. "I have someone to meet."

"Why?"

"He and his brother were the people I was with when I was abducted..."

"Abducted?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time!"

Keari growned, then, seeing that Evie wasn't going to give up, began to explain her encounter with the Elric brothers. When she was done, Evie was staring at her with wide eyes. The dull ache in her shoulder and legs made Keari look away from her startled gaze to massage the stumps.

"Wow." Evie paused, considering, then asked, "Why do you always do that?" Keari looked at her in confusion so she clarified, "Rub your shoulder?"

"Oh," she glanced down at herself, "My automail was recently attached, as I told you. It hurts for a long time after that."

"Really?"

"You know what, Evie?"

"This is the longest time I've heard you go without going on a rant." She smiled at her.

"Is that a bad thing?" The other girl opened her mouth, but Keari waved her hand to quiet her.

"No!" She cleared her throat, "I mean, no." She could practically hear Myne's eyes rolling in the next seat over.

The rest of the train ride passed in silence, except for a few random outbursts from Evie and murderous glares from Myne, which seemed to shut her up for a while.

"So, Lieutenant Breda?" Keari asked, since it seemed that they were the only two people in their group not sleeping.

"Yes?" he answered, dark eyes solumn.

"Why did you, and your colonel, care about us? Why would you come for us?"

"I'm not quite sure, but I suppose it's because the colonel didn't think it was right that innocent people would be killed, too."

"You're colonel sounds like a noble man," she pondered, wondering what the nameless colonel she had been informed of was like.

"He is," Breda nodded.

"What's his name?"

"Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist."

_The Flame Alchemist? Why does that sound familiar? _Keari wondered. _He was a state alchemist, but what does that have to do with it? Maybe...No, that can't be right. _She dismissed the idea._ Someone who would go to all this trouble couldn't be the Ishvalan war hero, could he?_

"When I get to Central, I'd like to thank him," she murmurred, meeting the lieutenant's gaze.

"I'm sure he'd like to meet you, too. After all, you're Fullmetal's girlfriend, right?"

"WHAT?" she sputtered. _Why does everyone make that assumption? Honestly! What indication of being 'boyfriend and girlfriend' had we given? _"No! It's not like that."

"Hmmm...To hear the major talk...never mind."

_The major. That explains it._

"Try to get some sleep now," Breda advised. "Staying up all night isn't going to do you any favors tomorrow morning."

"I'll try."

She closed her eyes, wishing it was just that easy. The nightmares always claimed her; that night was no exception.

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><p><strong>Well, I like most of this chapter. I mean, Evie was out of character for some parts but that was the point so don't try to call me on that. I know. Anyway, next chapter is REALLY intense so I hope you liked what little comic relief I throw in there. I SUCK at writing comic relief, you can probably tell.<strong>

**Anyway, I have been blurring lines, haven't I? Okay, we're going set some of this first anime/brotherhood mix straight.**

**1. There is Truth, but there's also the Gate from the original.**

**2. There's Xing.**

**3. There's Father.**

**4. There's Sloth from the original.**

**5. There's Wrath from the original.**

**6. There's Pride from the original.**

**See what I mean? I needed to sort some of this stuff out. Now, none of this is giving you any spoilers to what I have planned, don't worry. I just needed you to know this so you don't get confused later...XD**

**If you have time, would you click the little blue button, please? I'd appreciate it!**


	16. Tears and Answers

**All right, I'm (FINALLY) back! I'm soooo sorry to keep all you waiting, but the summer was absolute chaos! Between some family tragedy, computer DEATH, the writer's block case of DOOM, and just plain business, I could NOT write. Anyway, now I really have to catch up so this chapter was a fairly long one. I'm hoping to update on sundays or well, when I find time to write...school's a bit tough this year...XP Anywho, hopefully you guys forgive me for abandoning you...**

**It sucked for me, too, you know.**

**Anyway, this is actually one of my better chapters, in my opinion. I put my SOUL into it! Hopefully it makes up for leaving you guys...ENJOY!**

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><p>"<em>That's<em> Central Command?!" Myne asked, mouth hanging open in surprise and eyes the size of dinner plates.

Keari's lips curled into a smile. "Yes, Myne," she replied and inclined her head, "You do have a point, though. It _is_ big." The large stone building rose up in front of them, Amestrian flags hanging from the walls. The guards stationed at the gates had allowed them to enter the courtyard under the permission of Lieutenant Breda and a small note from Mustang.

"It's frickin' AWESOME!" Evie squealed, latching onto Breda's arm. _How did I know she couldn't be stunned speechless?_ "I mean, it's...AWESOME!" Breda was looking faintly terrified.

"We get the point," Myne muttered.

"When we're done here, can we go see Ed?" she asked, raising pale brows.

Breda shook Evie off, saying in his serious manner, "Yes, after the colonel has met with you, you're free to go. If you need to, though, we can house you four in some of the spare lodging."

Ian walking back to them from where he had been admiring the architecture, as he'd said, smiled, "We'll probably take you up on that."

"Come on," the lieutenant requested, jerking his chin in the direction of the doors. "Mustang won't want to wait, especially since I called him and told him that we had arrived as soon as we reached Central."

Keari followed him up the remainder of the pathway and through the doors, closely followed by the others. They entered a large room which was mostly empty except for the secretary at the desk. She was a dark haired woman in military uniform and was flipping through files of paper work.

"We're here to see the colonel," Breda announced, crossing the room to her.

"He's in his office," she looked up, smiling wryly, "When you see him, tell him he's behind on his paper work."

He rolled his eyes, "I will." His gaze found their small group, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Keari?"

"Oh, yes! Uh, we're coming!" She half-ran to catch up with him. Keari felt a bit out of place as she was surrounded by perfectly spotless people in dark blue uniforms. Her dusty, skirt-and-shirt assemble and the coating of road dirt on her skin made her feel all the more embarassed.

"Actually, he really only needed to see you," Breda said, leading them down a long, bare hallway. His destination seeming to be the door on the far wall.

"Me?"

"Of course. You're the one, well, perhaps Ian, but really it was only you who the military meant to save. Myne got lucky, and Evie...we didn't even realize she was going to be here." He sighed in exhaustion when he said Evie's name.

"I suppose that makes sense," Keari muttered to herself. "I have to say, I'm kinda nervous to meet Colonel Mustang. I owe him a lot for saving us."

Breda remained silent, but having reached the door, pushed it open. "Wait here," he said to Evie, Myne, and Ian, holding the door for Keari to enter.

The room was similiar to where they'd entered, but instead of being mostly empty, it was inhabited by almost a dozen people. But, the person that immediately commanded attention was a reasonably tall man with calculating dark eyes and equally dark hair, sitting at the desk on the opposite side of the room. A blond woman with serious brown eyes stood at his side. They seemed to be arguing, unaware of their arrival.

"But, Colonel! You have to do your paper work!" the woman commanded, eyes sparking with open irritation.

"Hawkeye!" he exclaimed. _It almost sounds like he's whining_, Keari noticed with faint surprise. "I'm busy! I don't have time for this."

"Y-"

"Excuse me, sirs," Breda said, seeming to be restraining himself from rolling his eyes. "I brought her here, as you requested, Colonel Mustang."

_Do they always argue like that?_ Keari wondered, taking an involuntary step back as their eyes simultaneously locked on her.

Hawkeye, as she now knew the woman was called, looked faintly embarassed, but she smoothed her features into a professional looking smile.

"Keari Maran?" Colonel Mustang asked, looking from Breda to Keari and back again. Breda nodded, walking up to his desk. Keari followed him hesitantly. _Just do it, Keari! He's not going to kill you._ She grimaced, squaring her shoulders and walking briskly up to his desk.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving us," she said, meeting his dark gaze with her silvery-blue one. "I owe you so much. If Equivalent Exchange is truly the way of the world, I owe you much more than I can ever give. So, I thank you."

"Please, it was the least we could do."

"Still, thank you."

Mustang nodded, "On a different note, I see you have others traveling with you?"

"Yes," Keari answered, "Ian was sent along by his father, Myne was a prisoner with me, and Evie just tagged along with us because...I'm not really sure why, but she's here."

"That's a very interesting group," he said, amused.

She chuckled faintly, "Yeah, I suppose it is."

"The Elrics told me their side of the story, but I was wondering what your take on it was. What exactly happened?" the colonel asked, leaning forward expectantly on his desk.

_He's ignoring all his paper work..._

Keari began to tell him what had happened inbetween the time when she had been kidnapped until they met up with Breda. He nodded often, making small noises of interest. When she had finished speaking, he said absently, "Luck must have been on our side. You four made it through quite a bit to come here."

"Yes," she said and then added, "sir."

"Please, it's just Mustang. Colonel Roy Mustang. You can even call me the Flame Alchemist if you want."

It was then that she realized where she had seen his face and heard his name before. _He_ was the famous Ishvalan war hero. The one responsible for the destruction of her home. At his hand, her home had been destroyed. It occured to her that without him, she could be sitting at home with her parents and siblings. They could have been happy if it hadn't been for _him_.

Somewhere, in a rational corner of her mind, she knew that the military would have destroyed her home anyway, but she pushed the thought away. For years all she knew was that the state alchemist that destroyed her district in Ishval.

"Miss Maran?" the dark haired colonel she now thought of as a murderer asked. "Keari? Are you all right?"

"Why would you care?" she said between gritted teeth, clenching her hands into fists at her side.

Mustang's eyes widened in surprise and confusion over her drastic change of heart. "Wha-"

It was then, seeing the dark, falsely innocent eyes of the killer, that Keari snapped. "Shut _up_! You don't need to pretend like you care anymore! I said I owed you, but now I realize I don't owe you _anything,_" Her voice was growing steadily more hysteric with every word, eyes gaining a haunted glint. The faint blue in her eyes was almost entirely blocked out with silver in the flourescent lighting of his office. "Were you trying to make up for what you did in Ishval by saving my life? I was _there_, you know!"

He looked at her in pure shock, a pained expression slowly creeping onto his face. "You're-"

"My _father_ was pure Ishvalan and my mother was an Amestrian soldier. They were both killed in the attack on Ishval that _you_ took part in! No, you were the state alchemist that destroyed my home and took my parent's lives."

Hawkeye, forgotten by Keari, suddenly slammed the record book she had been leafing through down on the table. "My apologies, sir, but I have to intervene." She looked at Keari, brown eyes full of a mixture of anger and sympathy. "You have to understa-"

"_No_!" Keari screamed, ashamed to find tears threatening in her eyes. "I don't _have _to understand anything! Not from you. Murderers!" She choked, unable to say another word. Without meeting any of the staring eyes, she turned on her heel and sprinted out of the room.

Hot tears blurred her vision as she ran down the marble hallways of Central Command. She heard someone shouting her name but kept running until she had made it out the doors and down several streets before she stopped. People crowded the streets, buying anything from fruits to flowers. Talking. Laughing. Keari sunk down to her knees along the side a building, attempting to stay out of the way. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed. Her body shook violently with the force of the tears.

Some of the people mingling in the market streets of Central were staring at her, the sobbing girl, covered in dust, crouched in the dirt on the roadside. She didn't care. She wasn't capable of caring what people thought of her, too caught up in the past to recognize the present.

If it weren't for the military, she could have had a family. Rehara would still be here, so would Shany, and Bren, and even...mom and dad. Keari could only dimly remember her parents, but there was still a separate ache in her chest, carved out just for them. Shany. Bren. Rehara. Mom. Dad.

_It's all the military's fault! Why couldn't they have just left Ishval alone! They were the ones who started that damn war, anyway._ That's what she had always been told. The war had started when an Ishvalan child had been ruthlessly murdered by an Amestrian soldier in cold blood. The Ishvalans, trying to protect more of their own from being killed, retaliated. And, they were shot down.

But...now that she thought about it, that made no sense at all. What would the military gain from starting a pointless war that they had to have known would end in a massacre? And...why did Ishval have to end in a massacre? Why didn't the military just stop the uprising and reinforce security? Couldn't they have made peace?

The more Keari thought, the more questions she had. She needed answers. Answers...what about Central Library? They had to have some general information about the war.

No...she wouldn't be able to find the kind of information she needed there. She would need someone with access to the military records. She would need someone who was in the military, and being that she only knew a select few people who were in the military, and Mustang, she thought venomously, and his men probably would give her access, not that she would accept their help. That left just one other person. One of the very few people in the world she trusted. The first person in a long time that she had let into her life. He had accepted her and hadn't asked for an explanation. The person she'd missed the most.

Edward Elric.

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><p><strong>Ooooo, the next chapter should (I say, should) be out soon. Hopefully next week sometime and even better, perhaps on Sunday. BY THE WAY!<strong>

**THE HUNDRETH REVIEWER GETS A ONE-SHOT! So, um, review please. Yeah...**

**Another, BY THE WAY!**

**If you have any kind of artistic talent, feel free to draw any characters from this story! If I think it's awesome, then maybe it will end up as the story cover for this story! **

**OKay...I think that's it.**

**Sayonara, my fine friends of the soul! :) I really, really hope I can get the next chappie out quicker than I did the last one.**

**Good bye! Review, please!**


	17. Red Stones of Loss

**Hi! Okay, I give up. I tried to get this chapter out ASAP! But...Truth is mocking me... Writers block struck again! I told you guys I'd try to get my chapters out every week, but if you haven't figured this out by now, it's not going to happen. I really hope you guys are okay with that! I'll update as often as possible but if it goes for weeks without an update, I'm sorry but I'd rather update GOOD chapters slowly as opposed to crappy chapters quickly. **

**Speaking of which, I have yet to edit this chapter and I hope it'll happen, but if it doesn't, sorry about that.**

**Anyway, you don't want to hear ME talking! You wanna see Ed and Keari see eachother again and fall into eachother's arms and wrap their arms around eachother and as their lips meet-yeah. Not happening. I'm not saying that it's not EVER going to get EdxOC, but definitely not in this chapter. I also lied. Ed and Keari don't reunite in this chapter. Somehow my creativity hit and I realized, hey, this is getting kinda boring, plus people expected them to see eachother in this chapter so I decided to twist it a little. :D**

**As most of you have noticed, I got a story cover! YAY! Anyway, the story cover is a drawing of Keari by Nayru Elric! I LOVE YOU, DUDE! XD Anyway, so as a thank you, you all should check out her stories. She has a couple really, really awesome ones! Especially her new one, Just A Game, or JAG as we like to call it. Anywho, SHE'S AN AWESOME WRITER SO YOU BETTER LOOK HER UP! :D**

**Anywho, as the lat announcement, THE 100TH REVIEWER GETS A ONESHOT! And, just so you guys know, I don't really think it's fair for someone to get two oneshots from me 'cause their awesome (I REALLY am just kidding...I hope their at least okay, though) so if you have gotten a oneshot from me, you don't get another one for quite a while. If it was like, years ago then, sure I'll give you a oneshot, but for some *caugh* Nayru Elric *caugh* you don't get another... and it will go to the 101st reviewer.**

**THANK YOU! AND GOOD NIGHT!**

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><p>The last page of notes fell gently to the wooden floor with a mocking sort of grace. Edward watched fall from his finger tips, the shock of what it contained almost too much for him to bear. Al hadn't noticed his brother's reaction, still absorbed in a page that he was sure that Ed had done incorrectly.<p>

_No...No!_ _That can't be right! It CAN'T be!_ He picked up the page of notes from the floor in a detached way, trying to force down the panic that was threatening to take over.

_...to make a philosopher's stone you must sacrifice..._

"...live humans..." Ed whispered under his breath. It seemed to be too hot in the room for comfort, almost as though all the force that had driven him for a solid _week_, that had driven him to decode the notes, find out their answers, had come back to laugh at him.

How could he tell Al that he had failed?

_"DAMMIT!" _He shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. Al looked up at him, startled, the questions obvious in his eyes. Ed took a breath, staring down at those damn notes. They had led him on, made him believe that what they were doing was possible, then when they had piqued his interest, they gave him the reality of their content. They told him what was really possible.

"I get it, now. Why they call all this quest the devils errand, why they either quit their research or are driven insane by it."

"Easy," Alphonse broke in. Edward realized that he was clenching the table so hard that even his automail hand was shaking. But, he was too desperate to find a different answer than the one he knew was the only one to care.

"The secret, Al," he continued, breathy, as if he'd been running for quite a distance before having this conversation, "The last ingredient in the Stone...is live human beings."

Al remained motionless with shock, staring at him in horror. The only way he could convey emotion, through those luminescent eyes. _It's all my fault. I'm the reason he's in that damn body and now I've failed him again._

"Just when I thought..." he closed his eyes as if to block out the knowledge, but realizing it was futile, opened them again. When he continued, his voice sounded like a rubber band stretched almost to the breaking point, "Just when I thought it was finally within our grasp."

Keari scanned the street, almost wishing she'd see the brilliant red coat of the alchemist she knew so well. She realized that her plan of tracking down Ed, looking through the war records with him, and going off to exact revenge was much more flawed than she had thought.

Firstly, how could she find Ed? There were thousands of people in Central! Wait...how did she even know Ed was _in_ Central? He could be in Risembool for all she knew.

Secondly, how did she know he would say yes? Even if she managed to find him, it would be very easy for him to say 'naw, we're too busy with our military plans to help you.' He had no obligation to help her. If anything, she was indebted to _him_.

And...well the third really was more of an 'if' than a 'will.'

She sighed tiredly, realizing how exhausted she was. When had she slept decently last...at the Rockbells. _That explains it_, she thought to herself. That was...nearly two weeks ago. It felt like a lifetime.

Somehow, still sitting against the wall of one of the shops, she was comfortable. Unlike the last few weeks, she now had a plan and that was always something she could be almost happy with. She didn't like charging blindly into things without an idea of what she was up against and what would happen. Of course, she realized, that was almost entirely what she had done lately.

She yawned, eyelids drooping. _Sleeping here wouldn't be so bad,_ she thought. But, just as she started to relax, she heard a shrill voice.

"I found her, guys!"

Keari pried open her eyelids and found that Myne, outlined against the afternoon sun, was standing in front of her. Ian and Evie appeared seemingly out of nowhere beside her. She got shakily to her feet.

"Keari! You had us worried, ya know that?" Myne said, shaking her head.

"Yeah!" Evie piped up. "My mom warned me about Central so you shouldn't go strutting around all alone!" She looked around and leaned in to hiss in Keari's ear. "You _know _you can't trust _boys_!"

_Strutting? _Keari thought wearily. _I don't strut._

"Really! Them soldier guys just told us that you tore outta there like a bat outta hell! What are you thinking? Did you think that now that we're in Central, you can just ditch us? Did you want to get rid of us that quickly?" Myne finished, voice breaking at the end. "Were we that much trouble to you?"

Keari was utterly astounded that they had come to that conclusion. She opened her mouth and closed it, realizing that there were tears pooling in the younger girl's eyes. Even Evie looked distressed.

Ian looked at her, hurt in his eyes, "Did you even think about what we would do? Keari, are you so vain as to think that you're all that matters? Running away like that. It was just plain irresponsible! If you had gotten captured, _again_, what do you think we would do?" Keari stared at him, completely stunned. She felt somehow numb. "_The military doesn't want us._ We remind them of failure. You, on the other hand, made friends in high places so people don't want to piss off the Elrics by pissing off you."

The numb shock Keari had been feeling up until this point seemed to snap like a rubber band stretched too tight, replaced by anger. "Look, it's not like I was _planning _to run away! It was just too much for me to handle! You have no idea what happened-"

"No, we don't!" Myne screeched. "So tell us! You never tell us anything! You told us your back story, but only after I prodded you into doing it! Seriously, we only have each other! Why do you feel like your secrets are too much for us to handle!?"

"Because maybe they are! Maybe ordinary people like you and Evie and Ian aren't meant to know the shit that's happened in my life!" Vaguely, Keari knew that the rage she was in was probably brought on by too little sleep, but at the moment she didn't care.

"My dad gave his life to help us! Are we really normal people!?" Ian looked at her, eyes full of such loathing that it brought her up short. "The military doesn't want _us_, but _we _don't want _you_."

"W-what?!" She said, breathy, wondering if he really meant that they didn't want her to be part of their little, messed-up group. "Myne?"

"I'm _not_ an ordinary person," she said simply, dark eyes hard.

"E-Evie?" she nearly whispered, Myne's words stabbing into her like a knife blade.

"I don't think you really need us anymore." Evie bit her lip, twisting a lock of hair between her for and middle finger.

She felt faintly sick of her stomach as she said the last name, already knowing the answer. "Ian..."

"I thought you were a different kind of person than you turned out to be."

"N-no..." Keari said, voice breaking. "...you can't do this..." But she knew, they already had.

She realized how stupid her own words were. Sad, really. And, too late.

Myne shook her head, disgusted, turned on her heel, and walked away. Ian followed her giving Keari one last look. Evie, almost reluctantly, turned and walked away. None of them looked back.

Keari's knees gave out as she stared after them, her friends melding into the crowd until she couldn't see them anymore. She'd lost them. She'd been stupid, and she had lost three of her only friends in the world.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ she wondered. _I can't believe I was so stupid._

She would have cried. She almost wanted to cry. But, her eyes remained dry.

"How could this be possible?" Edward wondered, burying his face in his hands, Alphonse sitting motionless beside him.

"I don't know," Al murmured, all the optimism that usually colors his tone, gone.

"After all this time, years of searching, sacrifice..." he shook his head, "This is the answer we get?"

He looked up at his brother, "The secret ingredient to make a philosopher's stone, the only way to make it work, live humans and in mass numbers!"

"Brother-"

He shook his head. "Come on, Al. Let's go to our room."

It was totally silent as they made their way back to their room in the military housing. Ed, after throwing the notes on the coffee table, stretched out on the couch, arms behind his head.

"God must really hate people who go against him," he murmured, breaking the tense silence. "I was eleven years old then and he still beat." He stared up at the fan, squeaking on the ceiling. "Every time I thought it was in reach he's pulled it away so I fall on my face. Then, when I've finally got my fist around it, he raises his big obnoxious leg and kicks me in the teeth."

Alphonse didn't really have a response to that.

Keari walked along the winding streets of Central, wishing the overcast would lighten, but at the same time, was slightly content with the clouds because they reflected her mood. Grey. Depressed.

She told herself she was looking for the Elrics, but she knew she was really just wandering around. How would she possibly find the Elrics? Just go up to a random person on the streets and ask them if they knew where the Fullmetal Alchemist was? Yeah, that'd work.

She realized that the first place she would need to check was the military housing. But, even if he was staying there? What were the odds he would even be in his room? Would he be off on some mission?

Keari knew Ed was not the type to sit around in his room all day, but maybe they would have a list of the people who were staying there? It was worth a shot.

She took off in the direction of Central command, knowing that the housing would be near by. Finding Central command again was easier said than done, simply because she had Breda to show her where to go the first time and leaving she had barely been able to see. Luckily, she was closer than she'd thought. Rounding several blocks and following a narrow alley-way got her to the large metal gates with the Amestrian flag on either side.

She pushed the gate open, feet slipping on the pavement under her feet. She coasted on the outside of the fence, passing the command center Mustang had been in with a grimace, several other buildings that all looked the same until coming to a large, cement building with a sign on the front reading, "Housing."

Feeling a building sense of unease, she pulled the door open and walked inside. Her shoes clicked on the tile floor as she walked up to dark-haired secretary sitting behind a wooden desk who seemed very busy and scowled at her when she entered.

"Uh...I," Keari stuttered, wondering what to say to her. "I'm here to, um, visit the Elric brothers..."

The secretary raised an eyebrow at her. Keari could tell from her face that the Elrics were indeed staying there, but she was making up her mind of whether to let her see them.

So Keari decided to lie. "I'm their automail mechanic, visiting from Risembool. I need to check up on Edward's automail. He always breaks it," she said, flashing a sugary sweet smile, and thoroughly enjoying playing Winry for a few minutes.

That seemed to do the trick. The secretary nodded, saying in a hoarse voice, "They're in room 426." She looked back down at her papers, obviously meaning wanting her to get out of there.

Keari didn't need telling, she through the door to the stairs, ran up several long flights of stairs until she reached the rooms in the 400's. Exiting the stairs, she walked down a long, white, hallway.

_409, 410, 411...412_

She stood staring at the door for a moment. Would they be glad to see her? Would _he _be glad to see her? How would he react to seeing her alive. Did he have her things...?

She took a deep breath, wiping her sweaty palms on her dusty skirt, and knocked.

The pale-haired man sat in the chair, surveying his creation with slightly bored eyes.

"Are you sure the Fullmetal pipsqueak is coming to Lab 5, soon, Father?" his son asked in a tone of malicious excitement.

"Don't doubt me, Envy. He's just a human, after all. So predictable." He sighed.

"Yes, Father. It's not that I doubt you, but the human you enlisted..." Envy shook his head in disgust.

"I understand your concern, my son, but it isn't needed. Once the girl is taken care of, we shall do the same to that power-hungry woman."

"Will we still go through with her plan?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Her foolish idea of making a philosopher's stone using the Hohenheim's son?"

"Yeah, that one."

"We'll see how things turn out. I know the girl won't consider it. She considers alchemy to be evil because of what it did to her people and what she did with it. She will use alchemy, but not for that." Father placed a finger on his chin. "The boy, on the other hand. He'd do anything to help his brother. He's a possibility."

"Do we let them go through with it?"

"Another philosopher's stone would be helpful. If it's created, we will take it from them. Humans couldn't handle such power, isn't that the woman's theory?"

"I think so. Stupid human. It won't interfere with our plans, right? We've had enough problems with Greed."

"I don't see any way it would disrupt our ultimate goals. As for your brother...we shall take care of him shortly."

"So the woman's taken care of, the pipsqueak's taken care of, the brother's taken care of, what of the girl?"

"Don't worry, Envy, I'll make sure the woman ends her. Permanently."


End file.
